The OS Doorstep - a helpful and supportive thread in these tough times

floss2

Bright sunshine but chilly in Lancashire, frosty cars this morning but all clear when I left for work.

We had a great time at the beer festival on Saturday, I'd made butties to eat on our way there (we sat in a bus stop to eat them as it was chucking it down!), spent several hours in quite good company, then home for footie followed by rugby, accompanied by slow-cooked chicken and h/g beans & bacon

Yesterday was a bit of a wash-out though...Friday's 60th birthday party & Saturday's beers caught up with me! _pale_ Walked to pick up DH's car, then to look at freezers & cookers for the house next-door, then went to order a bed for our new spare room. We spent almost an hour debating the merits of drawer divan v bedstead, eventually settling on the black & silver bedstead with a new mattress which we will put onto our bed Now need to get the new front & back doors ordered along with the connecting work and hopefully we'll be all sorted for Christmas.

Pooky, how many kitties do you have at the moment? We're planning to take a rescue cat, but DH wants to wait until January....I keep looking on our local RSPCA web-pages

Nutty, At the end of the day, your employers have a duty of care to you and your colleagues, and if one of them is potentially putting you in danger then they have an obligation to act. Do you have CCTV in your place that might support the 3 statements or contradict hers?

Fuddle Fingers crossed your mum is on the right path after your help, and everything crossed for a smooth move BTW, you did the right thing - you were expecting to be in a home not suitable for your beloved dog, and acted accordingly. I'm sure he'll be loved almost as much in his new home.

shegar

KEZLOW and NUTTY You both did the right thing..........

Its a cracking day here today , sunny blue skies , slight wind , a super day to get the washing line dried..........Also its a wee bit nippy @ 10 degrees.....I can put up with cold nights as usually we get sun during the day , we are forcasted a ground frost tonight..........

I went to bed last night at 7 pm and woke at 6 am, felt terrible when I woke , so tired and lethargic , Ive been taking the anti bio s since Friday so I suppose they are not up to strength yet in my system, they better get a move on hubby as back home today..........

Usual Sh*t on a Monday morning , social services rang to tell me that ive had 10 and a half weeks respite so far this year , and I only have 1 and half week left until next April 5 .:eek:.........

They have agreed in the past since they done a carers assessment that Im entitled to 12 weeks per year which is 1 week every month , they class his needs as intense care needed .................But in some of the 10. 5 weeks that ive had , he as had to go into respite because ive been ill, but if im ill it as to come out of my 12 weeks respite..........
Dont know how im going to manage now that I only have 1.5 weeks respite left til next April,:mad: so she said that they will get a support worker out to me earliest time mid December to do another carers assessment ...:mad:BUT she as already told me that I WONT be getting any extra funding with the respite expense............So im really worried what to do, as ive got bronchitis now but ive still got to look after him when he gets home today .......................................

I do understand fully that they have to cut back , so I will keep going til I drop then the doctors will probaly get involved as they are excellent to hubby and I .................I hope I dont come across as sounding greedy , but im just needy really..........I suppose they have to weigh the situation up whether it be cheaper for the council to put him in a nursing home than paying him DLA and direct payments.........Sorry for the huge long winded post .........Sheila..

floss2

Sheila, does your GP have any influence over the "any llness comes out of your 12 weeks rule"? Or your councillors or MP? That sounds really unfair - the less help you get, the less able you are to get over any illness, and then it gets cyclical.

nuttyp

Sheila, I really feel for you. I admire how you cope when your well and to cope while ill, well.......

Floss2, we do indeed have cctv where I work, its legal requirement. We have no access to the images but they are able to see in our workplace at any time at headoffice.

Feeling a bit tired now, just feel like having an afternoon nap. If I try the telephone always rings lol.

Pooky

floss - we've got 5 cats at present. One old tabby boy of 13 who was a rescue kitten, he was 18 months old when we got him. A longhaired black and white 4 year old male who just turned up one day and never went away. He was about 8 months old when he arrived, no chip, no one knew anything about him so we offered him a home (and got him neutered) he's a very big character of a cat, very naughty and playful. Then we have 3 kittens (well they're 18 months old now), we adopted them from a local cat sanctuary, all 3 were found together (along with over 20 cats) and were in a dreadful state, only 7 out of the original lot survived with vet treatment. Having three the same age is fun, they amuse themselves and are utterly adorable when they curl up in a big purry bundle and groom each other. (plenty of pics on my blog, you might need to go back a few pages).

We did have 6 altogether at one stage but we sadly lost one last year.

Our vet loves us and does give us a good discount for multi-cats.

shegar

floss2 wrote: »

Sheila, does your GP have any influence over the "any llness comes out of your 12 weeks rule"? Or your councillors or MP? That sounds really unfair - the less help you get, the less able you are to get over any illness, and then it gets cyclical.

Good point you make there, I dont know is the question, I wasnt told this when they arranged the 12 week respite package, so I will raise this with the support worker when she come out in December, im now starting to write notes which I will put to her on the appointment , and your point is now on there , many thanks.......

Ive probaly now got at least 4 weeks before she comes out , so it gives me time to see the GP , the GP is very very understanding of the illnesses that I have to cope with daily espeically my insulin dependant diabetes , and also hubbies problems , like ; epilepsy, memory probs, behavior , his medications, his motobility , cognitive probs, and his nursing care needs, when I just read this back what ive written , " I thought wow I have a lot to deal with daily " but its stuff that I have to deal with in 24 hrs .........

We have 5 drs in our practice and each and everyone of those are very caring towards us both, so I know that they will support us to the max.......Thanks for your help.......Sheila

Pooky

Sheila - sometimes when you put down in writing what you have to do for someone each day it helps you to see why you get so run down and poorly and why you need help. I know from experience that on a daily basis you just get up, get on with it and get through it but sometimes when you take stock the enormity and the scale of it really makes you think.

Get to the GPs ASAP and see if you can bring forward the meeting with your support worker. In the mean time is there anyone else that can help, maybe one of your kids? Could they take a couple of days to come and "do" for DH whilst you get over your bronchitis? I know it's far from ideal but you need help.

Long term, yes you know DH is going to have to go into full time care, it whether you do it now and have some quality of life left for you (which you're more than entitled to!) or later when the decision is taken from you as you're too poorly to cope. I think in your position I'd be really sussing out the long term options now and making moves to making you both more comfortable. I'd imagine he's feeling dreadful about being a burden (not that he is but you know what I mean).

How does he feel about going into a nursing home at the moment?

Huge hugs coming your way, if you lived closer I'd come and help (I'd have to bring my grump of a DH too but we could at least have some wheelchair races )

shegar

POOKY ....Excellent post from you, also youve hit the nail on the head with "going into permanent nursing care", he will be back very soon from his week in respite so im going to fine the "right time" to talk to him.......But I feel guilty about long term care as he is only 53 years old...........Sheila

[Deleted User]

Hello all, back from my travels and had a super day doing the cookery course on Saturday. Poor old DD1 soldiered along despite having a virus of some kind caught from one of the kids on the Paris trip so I spent yesterday sorting out her house and looking after her generally and took her out for lunch. We lit the first open fire of the year on Sunday evening and the Pushkin kitten absolutely loved it, spent the whole evening lying in front of it on his back with his tummy in the air and feet up too, luxuriating in the warmth, bless him,he's so cute.

Looking forward to my next trip up in 2 weeks time when they are performing Benjamin Brittens War Requiem in the cathedral but not looking forward to the train journey. I always try to have a reserved seat as it's a 3 hour journey from here and the last couple of trips the reservations have NOT been in place and it's been really hassley with people getting cross as someone is in 'thier' seat. I found the same today, someone in mine when I got on and as there were empty seats popped into the nearest one which was fine until a lady got on and had a right old tantrum that I was in 'her' seat. I offered to move but she just huffed away and I'm glad there were some empty seats and she got one of them. I think living in 2013 is difficult for lots of folks and they are running on very short fuses indeed!!!

Parsnips, no I'm not being rude either! I've just read back and my favourite thing for parsnips is to boil then until they are soft and cooked then mash them with some butter and black pepper and a couple of spoons of cream/creme fraiche, add in as much grated cheddar as you like and turn it into an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with grated cheese and pop it into the oven until it is golden brown on top and bubbling cheese, it's lovely. It makes a nice topping for a shepherds pie too.

It's nice to be home, catch you all tomorrow, Love Lyn xxx.

Hard_Up_Hester

Juliette, this is the recipe I use, http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3198/spicy-roasted-parsnip-soup
Hester