advice needed on stroke care provision

Edinburghlass_2

Biggles wrote: »

They said, "Aren't you going to drink it?". "No". "Why not?"

She says, "I don't like tea".

Priceless!!

Absolutely :rotfl::rotfl:

margaretclare

Love it!!!

This whole thing about 'making a cup of tea' is one of the basic things that people are expected to do for themselves when living at home. Mum could also have said 'Well, you only said make it - you didn't say drink it as well!'

I used to do an office job for a team of people who were a kind of 'bridge' between hospital and home. A physiotherapist, a district nurse, an occupational therapist - no speech therapist, they're scarce as hens' teeth! They took one lady home from hospital and she couldn't remember where her kitchen was, in the house she'd lived in for half a century! So, obviously, they took her straight back again.

Things have moved on a bit since I had the first hip replacement in 1983 - I wasn't even 50 then. But these same kind of assumptions were made. I was told I'd be taken into a little kitchen and asked to make a cup of tea. I explained quite forcefully that it wasn't going to be a problem for me - what might be a problem was driving a car with manual gears and a clutch pedal, and getting back to work (I was a midwife teacher at the time). They looked at me as if I was talking a foreign language. At that time it was extremely rare for 'younger' i.e. under 70 people to have hip replacements, and the mindset was just not geared up for it.

Oddly enough, they didn't do the stairs there, which has been done at every joint replacement I and DH have had since. Strange, because at that time I lived in a 3-storey Pennine cottage!!

Margaret

markymark10_2

Hi there

Once again many thanks to everybody that has responded to this thread & I do apologise for not replying to every post but I do read all posts & I am very grateful for all the advice & support that has been imparted.

I had a bit of a shock when I went to see mum today in that the ward sister asked for a word & informed me that my mum has been assessed by a doctor & it is his opinion that her ongoing therapy at the hospital is not really benefitting her and that progress has levelled out.

They are already talking about moving her to outside care & a team meeting is being arranged for next week & mums case is being referred to a social worker to discuss options for residential care as in her current condition ( no movement in one side of her body) she would not be able to return home, although she can now sit up unaided she requires help for all her daily needs (dressing,toilet,meals etc).

Despite their assessment of the situation I have seen many small but significant improvements in her condition over the past weeks including her being able to say the odd word now & then & her being much more aware of what is happening to her (as evidenced in how emotional she gets when I talk to her about family) & being able to undertake small tasks like puting together 20 piece jigsaw puuzzles. Although its fair to say that her mobility is no better she has definitely inproved in her speech & communication & I feel that they are happy to give up on her treatment to free up a bed.

She only had the stroke in mid November & has been at the community hospital for about 8 weeks & is still under medication for the effects of the stroke in addition to the above. Do I have any rights to insist that she remains at the hospital in order to recieve ongoing care while she continues to make small improvements or is it likely that the decision will be taken out of my hands.

Despite my mums improvement & my thoughts on what she comprehends the hospital still maintain that she doesnt have enough mental capacity to make her own decisions as evidenced by me still having to sign medical consent forms for her so does this mean that her appointed social worker will have the power to make decision for her or will I still be able to have the final say.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Sarahsaver

Have you been in touch with the Stroke Association?
If her progress has levelled out they have no need form their point of view rto keep her in. unfortunately (?) it's not like the good old days when people sometimes stayed in hospital indefinitely.
It is possible for her to make progress still, or changes, think of it as you are looking for changes in her, but expect tiny bits sometimes. Age concern are very helpful. All the best x

Savvy_Sue

It might also be that they feel she would make BETTER progress somewhere else. Depends what they are suggesting, but I wouldn't reject it out of hand before thorough investigation.

Stroke Association should be able to advise you.

harryhound

I managed to keep my mother in the recuperation hospital for 6 months; by the sound of it she was starting from a better position, in that she could still understand and babble, albeit from a distorted face. I and other members of the family used to go and see her 2 or 3 times a week.
We the family and the nurses were able to get her talking again, understanding at the level of a primary school pupil and with memories patched up with the help of family photo albums. We got her back on her feet, and if she could forget her fear of falling, she could walk about in familiar surroundings without the Zimmer frame.
We failed on the incontinence front but we did manage to get mum back into her own home. The local authority looked after her for two days a week at the "day centre". We were lucky in that my daughter had two and a half months off between college courses, training to be an occupational therapist; so she was able to care for her grandmother and build on what had been achieved in the rehabilitation department of the district hospital.
After that we had to find live in carers - a similar price to a middle range care home, Some were good, some not so good and obviously sorting out carers and looking after mum's finances, house and garden was a tie and responsibility. It was what she wanted and she was reasonably happy until a winter infection carried her off some four years later.
That said every case is different and I was very aware of budgetary pressures within the system, that were geared towards "free up the bed and put her in a home". It can be very much a post code lottery.
Is there some sort of local stroke victim support group, that can give you a second opinion and guidance on what is realistically available in your area?
For you it is the first and hopefully the only time that you will be faced with these hard decisions, but it is happening to lots of similar families in your region every month.