My mum will be 68 in July,she has severe dementia and lives in a care home,on Wednesday she fell over and broke her wrist,she was admitted to hospital.She has hurt her hip too,as yet we don't know what is wrong with the hip.She's had a few x-rays,we're waiting to be told what they show.She's in extreme pain with it and screams out when the nurses try to do anything with her.They have her on painkillers etc to keep her comfortable.Normally at the home she's very mobile,she never sits still,she can still feed herself and drink from a proper cup.
So, here she is in hospital,out of her familiar environment,now super confused and only able to use one hand.Imagine my horror when i arrived the other night to find her dinner still sitting there,untouched and totally out of reach !!!! I cut up some sausage and gave her it cold,she ate a little bit. I then vented my spleen on nursing staff for leaving her this way,she needs help to eat!!!!
Last night i went to see her,visiting times are 2-3pm and 6-7 pm,she was very confused and very agitated,her mind was on overdrive,she was whispering lots of things,none of which made any sense. I hugged her and kissed her,tried to reassure her and calm her down a bit. She did calm a bit.I kept prompting her to drink water,she has a beaker with a lid and drinks through a straw,this was fine and she was drinking well.
I offered her more water,at this point she got it into her head that this was something bad,she tensed her arm whilst holding the beaker and shouted as loud as she could "mummy,mummy ,no mummy this will kill me it's dangerous".It took me with both hands to prise the beaker from her one hand,her strength was amazing.I held her hand,she gripped my hand so tight,i stroked her face and shoulder to calm her down,at this point i lost it,tears streamed down my face.I kissed her and hugged her when i said goodbye,walked out of the ward pretty fast and sobbed like a baby.
It's hard and cruel,she is alone for so many hours,the sooner we get her back to the care home the better.
So, here she is in hospital,out of her familiar environment,now super confused and only able to use one hand.Imagine my horror when i arrived the other night to find her dinner still sitting there,untouched and totally out of reach !!!! I cut up some sausage and gave her it cold,she ate a little bit. I then vented my spleen on nursing staff for leaving her this way,she needs help to eat!!!!
Last night i went to see her,visiting times are 2-3pm and 6-7 pm,she was very confused and very agitated,her mind was on overdrive,she was whispering lots of things,none of which made any sense. I hugged her and kissed her,tried to reassure her and calm her down a bit. She did calm a bit.I kept prompting her to drink water,she has a beaker with a lid and drinks through a straw,this was fine and she was drinking well.
I offered her more water,at this point she got it into her head that this was something bad,she tensed her arm whilst holding the beaker and shouted as loud as she could "mummy,mummy ,no mummy this will kill me it's dangerous".It took me with both hands to prise the beaker from her one hand,her strength was amazing.I held her hand,she gripped my hand so tight,i stroked her face and shoulder to calm her down,at this point i lost it,tears streamed down my face.I kissed her and hugged her when i said goodbye,walked out of the ward pretty fast and sobbed like a baby.
It's hard and cruel,she is alone for so many hours,the sooner we get her back to the care home the better.
