THE CHALLENGE OF A FUTURE WITHOUT Mr 3Dogs ..... but friends will make it possible

The_Dragon

Also Enviromental Health pest control service might be able to help, if it IS your neighbours building rubble etc where the little furry fiends have their nest then they can force your neighbour to clear it away.

beanielou

good to 'see' you.

3Dogs

Evening guys. I've had a quiet day today, only nipping out to B&Q to get some paint/rollers/etc for the hall while they had a 20% off weekend for Club Members, so saved myself a bit of cash ................ and bought myself a cordless drill which was already reduced then the 20% off too. What I am going to do with a drill, I don't know, as I've never used one before. I always 'supervised' and 'advised' while Alan did all the jobs Guess I will have to learn

No more mice caught in the traps today so it still stands at 3Dogs 5 v Mice 0

NorthernLas

Al*i is good for tools and painting stuff, this week it has offers on decorators caulk, silicone sealant and their version of Araldite ... Also try freecycle wanted ads for paint.

Glad 3Dogs, Mandy L and Robin are toddling on, baby steps while you are numb ... those who have been there WILL help when the numbness wears off ... practice asking and then it is easier and doesn't matter if people say yes or no (well that's what I've found anyways).

Toddle on

NL x

3Dogs

Thanks for that NorthernLas - good advice plus I will check in Aldi :T

I thought it about time that I gave you an update on my Mam

As most will know, she has been in a care home but in the NHS end-of-life unit since Novemer 2010 and they had been discussing her further need to be there or whether she should be in normal care home. They had a meeting, with my sister and brother present, together with her nurse and the unit Doctor, and it was agreed that she no longer needed to be on this unit and should be moved to care home. However, everyone agreed that she could not be moved to another home, as she was not strong enough for this, and so she would be moved into the normal care home part of the home. There are two rooms just at the entrance to the unit and the nurse/carers/doc all agreed that they would wait until one of these became vacant, so they could still keep an eye on her and it would be less upheaval for her. It was anticipated that it could be several months before she was moved as the home had to take in many extra residents when another local home was flooded out back in July and was short of beds

On 29th September, the manager of the home rang my sister to say they were going to move Mam downstairs that afternoon. My sister hit the roof at them doing it with such short notice, and that she was going downstairs, after what had been agreed, and the manager agreed to speak to my sis first so she went down earlier than normal for tea-time. When she got there, manager explained that Mam was top of the list for next room and that a room was available so she had to have it, asking if my Sis wanted to go down to see the room. A carer who was present said 'oh, she can't do that' to which the manager asked 'why?' to be told that the lady was still lying in the room the lady who had died and was awaiting undertakers taking her away :eek: My sister was astonished, but not surprised Manager also said that the money side of things had to be sorted out that day, but my Sis explained that I was away and so was my brother who dealt with Mam's finances, and that she couldn't speak to us till Monday. Manager said she would wait until Tuesday, but said that Mam had already been discharged so had to be moved as soon as possible. The nurse later told my Sister that the discharge papers had been placed in the file after the earlier meeting in preparation for her being moved, but had not yet been signed and dated so not ready to be implemented :mad: :mad:

Come the Monday, my sister got to see the room and found that the bed was broken, and she told the manager that Mam was not going into that room until the bed was fixed or replaced. My Sis asked Mam's nurse about her nebuliser and was told no-one had thought of that and a new one would have to be ordered for her through the care home, rather than NHS. When my Sis got there on the Wednesday, the carers and nurses told her that there had been sparks flying that afternoon as the manager had tried to move Mam downstairs on her bed from her current NHS room and the Doctor had been there and told her she couldn't take it as it was an NHS bed. Carers said it was nearly world war 3 :eek: :eek: Anyway, Mam was taken back to her NHS room and Manager had to order a new bed, which she had not yet done :mad: and it should be there the next day (Friday) or Monday.

It actually arrived on Friday and Mam was moved to her new room in the afternoon. When my Sis got there, she discovered that there was no overbed-table which Mam needed to be able to feed herself. One of the senior carers had gone mad about this and that a patient had been moved without sorting everything out first. The answer they came up with was that a carer would feed Mam, which my Sister told the manager was a backward step for Mam. My sister had cheekily brough down the tv and a folding chair down from her old room, as there was no tv in her room either, or chair :mad:

Anyway, the good news is that Mam has actually settled in nicely and seems more relaxed, less agitated. One carer who had worked upstairs when Mam was up there, said that Mam had been a lot quieter since her move, more settled. She hasn't been shouting and getting agitated like she did upstairs. She does talk very loud, but the girls say that's all, and she didn't do her normal screaming when they showered her. I think I mentioned that she pulled faces when one of two certain carers came with her meals or to change her, etc, and said she didn't like them. They are both very loud when they speak, and I wondered if this had upset her ............. or if they didn't take 'as much care of her' as the others which is upsetting You just never know what goes on when you are not there. All I can say is that I really pity anyone going into some care homes, and hospitals, if they do not have family or friends to visit, who can keep an eye on things

It is apparent from the way the manager went on, that the only thing she was interested in was in getting a person into that room and getting payments in for them. After all, an empty room meant no income for that room. Sad, very sad While Mam was in the end-of-life unit, she kept on getting her pension and AA though this part stopped after 12 months, as the unit is part of the NHS so classed as being in hospital. As soon as she was moved, her pension, less £20'ish for 'pocket money', had to be paid to the home for her care, plus a £11 top-up, so my brother had to sort all that out

As I said, Mam does seem calmer there, so that is good My sister has asked me to look out at auctions/car boot for a chest of drawers and bedside cabinet as the ones in Mam's room are rather tatty, and the home will not replace them :mad:

Added: Sorry about the long post - once I start, I just can't stop

taxi73

what a kerfulle but nice to know that she's settling in and that's the main thing.
can't believe they never thought to put all the stuff in the room ready for her

3Dogs

Morning guys. I had another 'meltdown' lastnight, around midnight, and have been up all night. I haven't been out all week, since Sunday, and haven't been dressed for days. I even just put my trousers and jacket on over my pj's to take the dogs out for short walks in the dark, rather than go out during the day I have been online most of the night, and just after 'pulling myself together' I decided to check online for a doctor's appointment. My doc can be hard to get an appointment for, so I took the fact that he had one, and only one, available for 8.20 this morning as a sign that I should go to see him

So I am just about to have a shower and get dressed ready to go out at 8am, and have a talk to doc about how I have been doing, as well as my increased arthritic pain in my right fingers/hand and my knees

JayJay14

Glad you are going to the docs, even just talking about everything will probably help.

Do let us know how you get on.

beanielou

Hope that the Dr was helpful.
Big huggles xxx

The_Dragon

Huge hugs 3dogs