Welcome to my blog. My name is Lizzie and this is a diary of my Mums dementia, the people who I mention in my entries are John my husband, Michael my brother, Teresa my sister and Dib and Daph who are mums brother and sister-in-law.... It has been a hard struggle and I have written a diary all through every step of her progress deeper into the illness.




Tuesday 29 April 2014

Monday 5th December - 30th December 2011

Monday 5th December 2011

Daphne phoned from the care home to say that mum had another tumble today, she was found on the floor in the room opposite, she had been rummaging through the drawers in the room, she had found a nightie and put it in the bin.  Daphne thinks she had tried to sit on the bed and slipped down onto the floor. She had been to the Christmas entertainment this afternoon and had a glass of wine, so that may have been some of problem.  I asked her if mum was OK and she said that mum was now ready for bed and in her chair watching her TV (she has a small mark on her back and mark on her face)

I told Daphne that we would be in to see mum tomorrow.

Daphne said that she had put her slippers on top of the wardrobe as they were very worn and the bottom was hanging off and could we get her a new pair

Tuesday 6th December

Mum was having her hair done when we got to the care home, so we went up to her and she saw us and said 'Oh hello, how did you know?' I assumed she meant how did we know she was there, I told her that Tina had told us, she said 'who'.

We took her down to her room and put her TV on for her, she looked very well and happy, we sat and watched TV with her and also chatted, well she was talking to the TV.  I asked her if Michael has been into see her, she said 'he's dead, isn't he?' I told her that 'No' he was fine and not dead! she said 'Oh! good'

We walked her along to the dining room, she stopped to talk to the chap who does the maintenance jobs, she said hello to him and he told us that mum talks to him every time she sees him.

We got a nice phone of her with Karen, her favourite carer.

There is a new lady called Daisy who mum seems to be friendly with, we left her sitting with Daisy at the dining room table waiting for her lunch.

They have entertainment this afternoon (Trevor the guitarist, who, we were told,  is going to serenade them!)

I text Teresa and told her that mum had a tumble and that we had been in today and she was fine.  

Wednesday 7th December

I phoned and ordered 2 new pairs of slippers for mum, they are being delivered to her at the care home, they will put her name in them for us.

Friday 9th December

Phoned and spoke to Jasmine and told her that mum would be getting a parcel through the post and that they would be her new slippers so would they open it and give them to mum and could they throw mums old slippers away.

Tuesday 13th December

We saw mum through the window, she was in the dining room, by the time we got in there she was looking out of the window, she seemed well but kept yawning, she was with Betty and Daisy (the new lady).

We sat in the dining room for a while, it felt like we were in some other world, all three were chatting about something different but were quite happy.  We took her along to her room so we could have some quiet time with her.  She wanted to go to the loo, so I took her, I had to go and find some dry padded knickers, it was quite a job getting them on her.  When Karen came in I got her to check that I had got them on the right way round!

We stayed with her for a couple of hours, she was tired, so we left her in her room watching TV.

Her new slippers had arrived and they fitted OK .

Tuesday 20th December

Mum was sitting in the chair at the end of the corridor, she was pleased to see us, we took her into her room and helped her open some Christmas cards and a couple of presents from her friend Bett, she was interested at first but soon lost interest.

Daphne came in to do mums eye drops and said that her left eye had been red and sore, the doctor came in and saw her and prescribe some eye ointment.  we stayed with her for a couple of hours and left her watching TV, she was quite content.

On Monday we had seen Charlie and he said that he has been into see mum and had given her a big box of chocolates.  There wasn't any sign of them, he had given them to her in the dining room so she had probably shared them with everyone.

Left a copy of the photo of mum and Karen for Karen when she is next on duty.

Saturday 24th December

We saw Tina on the way into see mum, she said that mum had another upset tummy, they had noticed that she had been eating a lot of chocolates and sweets so they had put them all on top of her wardrobe. (the chocolates that Charlie had taken in to her had been put in the staff cupboard!)

Mum was in her room watching TV, she was pleased to see us.  I took her a couple of little presents to open but she wasn't really interested in them.

She asked John why he was there and he told her that he had come to see her, she looked at me and said 'what did you bring her for?' she did giggle, so hope that she didn't mean it..

Laura and John came in and they bought Sasha (their dog) in with them, she was pleased to see them all, she enjoyed us all being there and at one time put us in our place when we were all talking and said, 'don't forget I'm here as well'.

We left about 12.30 and walked her along to the dining room, her friend Daisy asked her where she had been, and said to mum 'you are my friend'.

Friday 30th December

Mum in her room, we took Herbie (the dog) in with us today, she was pleased to see him and kept asking us his name, he sat on her lap for a while and she grabbed hold of his tail.

She was really muddily today, she kept asking us where we lived and said that she could come to our house, we told her that we lived a long way away and that the last time she came she was very travel sick.

We stayed a couple of hours and left her in her room.
 







Monday 7 April 2014

Tuesday 1st November - Monday 28th November 2011... Mums health starting to go downhill

Tuesday 1st November 2011

Mum was in the lounge watching TV when we arrived, she didn't know who we were at first but got very excited when she finally realised.  She looked very pale and was very muddily, she rambled a lot today.

Jessica was ranting and raving about 'that woman' had hit her with a magazine, she said that she's in there with her daughter, I realised that she meant me and mum.  I asked Tina if something had happened and she told me that Jessica was talking about mum, apparently mum and Jessica had been arguing and mum had hit her with the magazine she had been holding in her hand, she said that Jessica had been causing a lots of problems and was being moved onto a new home tomorrow.  Mum had never liked her as she had upset mum the first time they had met.  The incident had to be put in the 'incident book' made me smile to think of mum in the 'naughty' book.

Mum wouldn't be seeing the doctor until Thursday, Tina said that she would definitely see him then, she was happier today although she had another upset tummy last night.

I was talking to Tina, who is in charge this week as Daphne on holiday, she was very stressed, I asked her what she thought of the home and she said that she had worked for several but Park View was the best one, I told her that I was impressed with how many staff they had on in each shift as other homes we had looked at only seemed to have a couple of staff on at any one time.

We walked mum along to the dining room so she could get seated at the table for lunch.  We told her we would see her later and she was quite happy when we left.

Left a message on Teresa's phone about mum not seeing the doctor until Thursday.

Phoned Daph and she said that they would go in either Thursday or Friday and would phone me and let me know how she was.

Thursday 3rd November

Phoned to see if mum had seen the doctor, Tina told me that he is going to put mum on high energy drinks to try and build her up, he is not sure why she is still upset as they had done tests and all were normal, he suggested getting the dietitian in to sort out a diet for mum, Tina said that she would talk to Daphne on Monday, when she is back from her holiday, about the dietitian.

Tina said that she was fine and quite happy.

Friday 4th November

Daph phoned, they had been into see mum she said that they had sat around the table with Britt, Joyce and Betty, she was well but quite muddily, she had talked a lot, she couldn't remember that we had been in to see her on Tuesday, when Daph mentioned John, she asked her who he was and she told her that he was my husband, she looked surprised and said 'is she married then?'.

She is not on energy drinks yet, as waiting for the prescription to come from the chemist.

Tuesday 8th November

Mum was at the hairdressers having a perm, so we went up to see her, Elaine was just rinsing the perm solution of and rolling mums hair up, so when she had finished she put a scarf over the rollers so that we could take mum down to the dining room. We met Karen, who was just bringing one of the other ladies up to have her hair done, so she helped us take mum down in the lift, which was quite a feat, as we couldn't get her into it, she was very wobbly and we couldn't get her to step in, it took quite a few times before we finally got her in..

When we got back to the unit she asked us if she was in Hawkhurst, we told her that she was! She was very muddled and rambling today and her attention span was almost nil! it was a very hard visit as she kept looking out of the window.  She asked me where her mum was and I told her that she wasn't with us anymore, she just said 'Oh' and then asked me where my mum was, I told her that she was my mum she just laughed and said 'am I'.

Just after 12 we took her back up to the hairdresser and told her that we would see her later.

I found it a hard and depressing visit today.  I had a word with Daphne, she said that mum is not liking her energy drinks but they are encouraging her to have them, when I said about what Tina said about the dietitian, she said that the doctor has to arrange that.  Tina told me that she had eaten a jam sandwich for her breakfast and she did nibble at 2 biscuits and had half a cup of tea while we were there.. I will not let this go, every time we visit or are in contact I will badger and ask about mums appetite, they must not ignore it, she has lost a lot of weight and we are worried about it.

Friday 11th November

We went in for a quick visit, we took in some bits for the Christmas fair and left some cash for mum..  We took Herbie with us to see her, he was a hit with all the old ladies and mum was pleased to see him, she looked a lot brighter than she did on Tuesday.  Daphne told us that the doctor had seen her yesterday and had taken her off of the antibiotics that she has been taking for her UTI's also the Omeprazole, as they can both cause tummy upsets, she told me that she had eaten something.  She had her lunch in her room and I got her to eat a little of it,  JJ said that if she had been left on her own she wouldn't have eaten anything, as she hadn't got a clue how to use the knife and fork... we left just after 1.30pm, Justina took mum some pudding (jam sponge and custard) I expect that she will eat that..!!!

Wednesday 16th November

Mum was having tea and biscuits when we arrived, she was pleased to see us and looked much better, her speech has got a lot worse and it was hard to understand what she was trying to say to us.  JJ managed to make her laugh a few times.  We stayed for a couple of hours.

I had a phone call from Teresa to say that mum has had a fall and that she was fine, she is going in to see her on Friday and would let me know how she is.  Michael is going in at the weekend. She will be away next week.

Thursday 17th November

I phoned and spoke to Tina, she said that mum had a fall in the corridor and that she has a small bruise on her bottom. Mum said that her legs had crossed! Tina joked with mum asking her 'what are you doing down there Annie' mum just laughed, she said that mum was in good spirits and was eating well and they are keeping an eye on her.

Tuesday 22nd November

We are were going to taking Bett in with us today but she had phoned to say that she wasn't very well, she was going to take in some birthday presents in with her for mum.  I told her that we would pick them up from her on Thursday and take them in when we go in on Friday, which is her birthday.

Mum was in her room watching TV, Tina told us that she didn't want to go anywhere else today, she looked tired but was pleased to see us, although, until I bent down to kiss her she didn't realise it was me.  I took her in some homemade cakes and she manage to eat half of one.  Daphne came in with some post that was addressed to mum and asked if Teresa had told me that mum had another UTI and that she was on antibiotics again  (I didn't know anything about it).

While I was in the loo the doctor, nurse and Daphne came in. The doctor just looked at mum and said nothing and walked back out again!.  I went and caught him in the corridor and asked him about mum, he said that mum was on a course of antibiotics and when she has finished those she will then got on a maintenance dose of antibiotics (  I don't feel very impressed with the home doctor).

Mum was very tired, we watched some TV with her and left about 12ish.

Thursday 24th November

Phoned to see how mum was, I spoke to Daphne, she said that mum was a lot better and that she had eaten a dinner and a pudding, I told her that I didn't think that we would be able to get in to see her tomorrow and she told me that she would get the chef to make mum a birthday cake.

Monday 28th November

Mum was in the dining room, I suggested we go to her room as she had some presents to open, if we had stayed in the dining room all the others would have wanted to open then and we wanted mum to open them herself.  Her TV was on and her table was missing.  Mervyn came in with a cup of tea for her, so I asked him if he could find mum another table.

We put her cards on her window sill and helped her open her presents, she had a nice tin of biscuits, which we opened and she had one with her tea, she had also been given some chocolate eclairs which I thought she would have trouble eating but she happily chewed one.

Peggy (one of the residents) came wondering into mums room, she was still in her nightie which had porridge all down the front of it, we couldn't get her to go, so I went and asked Daphne if someone could help us with her, she was quite 'off' with me and told me that everyone was busy! Karen was on her tea break, Mervyn was doing the teas and Tina was at a training class... I was a little cross and told her 'don't worry, I'll get Mervyn'  I went into the dining room and Karen was there, she came back with me and took Peggy off.

We closed the door and sat with mum watching TV, she seems to think that she knows everyone on the screen, she was very happy but rambling.  I find it very upsetting that she finds it so difficult to communicate now,  it must be so frustrating for her.

We took her along to the dining room before we left so that she could have her lunch, she was quite happy when we left.

We both feel that the atmosphere has changed in the home the last couple of visits, the staff all seem to be discontented.