Social distancing oneself is cool... Makes one appear mysterious.
Still lots of Covid about?
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Back in the pandemic days it came as of no problem for myself to socially distance for RSD had already firmly imprinted that need upon my psycheSocial distancing oneself is cool... Makes one appear mysterious.
I’m surprised and pleased at how many of the Covid precautions are still being carried out, especially given the high proportion of people who ignored them during the pandemic.
For some reason people who might have squeezed up at a checkout did keep their distance in my local pharmacy. We still keep that distance.
I got into the habit of shopping later in the evening if I had to go into a supermarket and I still do that.
We established a “Click and Collect” routine for the bulk of supplies and we’ve kept that up, as have many others.
That persistent cough has gone around my whole family but I have got off very lightly. I do have all the flu jabs that have been on offer, all the Covid boosts on offer and a more general RSV vaccination.
I recon that Covid is now absorbed into the general run of respiratory infections for most of us. I’ve suffered very little from the half dozen or so times that I have been positive over the last six years. I appreciate that I have been lucky.
I wish anyone who is still suffering from Covid a rapid and complete recovery.
For some reason people who might have squeezed up at a checkout did keep their distance in my local pharmacy. We still keep that distance.
I got into the habit of shopping later in the evening if I had to go into a supermarket and I still do that.
We established a “Click and Collect” routine for the bulk of supplies and we’ve kept that up, as have many others.
That persistent cough has gone around my whole family but I have got off very lightly. I do have all the flu jabs that have been on offer, all the Covid boosts on offer and a more general RSV vaccination.
I recon that Covid is now absorbed into the general run of respiratory infections for most of us. I’ve suffered very little from the half dozen or so times that I have been positive over the last six years. I appreciate that I have been lucky.
I wish anyone who is still suffering from Covid a rapid and complete recovery.
I would think bushcrafters might also be preppers to some degree and in preppers cognizant of what threats exist within the environment, to take precautions against, just in case.
That may be a double edged sword. I work at home, mix with people outside and only go shopping when it's quiet. So, since the first covid outbreak I've not really had anything, even a cold.
Having visited mum in hospital for several weeks I've picked up a stomach bug, covid and possibly a cold. I think I've lost immunity I built up when I worked in an office.
Thanks for asking. She's home but seems to have a worse cough than usual, I have something similar so I assume it's left over from COVID.
The long hospital stay hasn't been kind to her either. I am a fairly realistic person and I know she's never going to recover from many of her ailments, I'm more concerned with getting her the care she needs and making her as comfortable as possible. That's why I was upset by the way she and similar elderly patients were left to catch COVID.
I'm sorry to hear that Mum isn't recovering quickly, but having said that, and having dealt with elderly relations for many years, I can truthfully say that they do recover. More slowly than they or we would like, but if they put any effort into being mobile, in being social, in being mentally engaged and active, then they do recover much of themselves and much of the enjoyment in life again.
That it's Spring, and Summer will be along, while your Mum is in that first real recovery year, is a kindness.
The world opens up for us in those seasons, and it shows in our recovery.
I hope she does well, that you both find stress easing away.
We are becoming an elderly society, and our health and social services haven't quite caught up on it all yet. Still too many people finding things hard.
I hope things go well for you both.
Thank you. The conditions my mum has, such as very bad arthritis, COPD, joint problems will not improve. Hopefully she will regain some muscle lost from the hospital stay but not much. I've known this for years and understand and accept the situation. I appreciate the kind words but it's slightly awkward to be honest and say she's not going to get better. I'm now trying to sort out long term care, but that's another can of worms.
Exercise beats Arthritis, is the title of a book that I bought over thirty years ago. We know that it doesn't cure it, but those gentle exercises mean that even after having Rheumatoid Arthritis for over half of my life, that every joint is still mobile, every joint is for the most part, useable.
Exercise boosts our mood and our healing.
I struggle to climb a hill, have real issues going down hill, and there are days when I struggle to walk to the end of the road without pain, but the joints do flex properly.
One of my friends has been teaching chair yoga for many years; the difference between those who do, and those who don't, is very noticeable.
Your Mum is lucky to have you
Exercise boosts our mood and our healing.
I struggle to climb a hill, have real issues going down hill, and there are days when I struggle to walk to the end of the road without pain, but the joints do flex properly.
One of my friends has been teaching chair yoga for many years; the difference between those who do, and those who don't, is very noticeable.
Your Mum is lucky to have you
I know it's difficult, but watching my MiL, the longer the stay in hospital, the more the elderly seem to degrade..... yet once out she improved, and this time, she has been moved to a community hospital from the main big hospital as a stepping stone to back home and her alertness and cognition is coming back again.
Wards in big hospitals just don't appear to be conducive to convalescence and longer term healing unfortunately.
Here's hoping that your mam gets home and heals as well as she can.
GC
One of the many problems with the hospital mum stayed in is that she's not received the care she should, i.e. the care they claim to provide. She has lost weight and this is known and should have been treated but nothing much was done. Elderly patients who spend weeks in bed ill should have their muscles strengthened so they can at least move about. This was not done. A convalescence home may have helped but, despite asking, I have not been told if they exist for this hospital or if a placement was considered.
Although mum came home I was going to have to ask for more care as she was not able to do anything for herself. She was sent home in the full knowledge she lives on her own. I stayed with her because past experience of the NHS has left me with no trust in them. Unfortunately it seems she's picked up another serious infection and is back in hospital being treated for pneumonia. Reading up it again suggests to me it's partly down to poor hygiene in the hospital and neglect of the patient.
A sign of how bad her care has been was the A&E doctor had to send her for a scan because he thought she may have damaged something because she was so poorly. There was nothing broken and he seemed very annoyed that she was sent home in such condition.
To top it all, the reason for mum having to go to hospital in the first place was down to very poor service from her GP.
Anyway, today will be spent chasing up and trying to get someone to actually do something meaningful about mums health. Perhaps I'll be lucky at the 8th or 9th time of having to speak to someone senior to try and sort things out.
Although mum came home I was going to have to ask for more care as she was not able to do anything for herself. She was sent home in the full knowledge she lives on her own. I stayed with her because past experience of the NHS has left me with no trust in them. Unfortunately it seems she's picked up another serious infection and is back in hospital being treated for pneumonia. Reading up it again suggests to me it's partly down to poor hygiene in the hospital and neglect of the patient.
A sign of how bad her care has been was the A&E doctor had to send her for a scan because he thought she may have damaged something because she was so poorly. There was nothing broken and he seemed very annoyed that she was sent home in such condition.
To top it all, the reason for mum having to go to hospital in the first place was down to very poor service from her GP.
Anyway, today will be spent chasing up and trying to get someone to actually do something meaningful about mums health. Perhaps I'll be lucky at the 8th or 9th time of having to speak to someone senior to try and sort things out.
By the way as a carer you are eligible for a statutory carers assessment to support you as a carer. Probably won't get much support but may be worth giving it a go.
Thank you, I am aware I might be able to claim something but I don't need to. There are also things I can't do, such as more medically oriented care.
On the subject of carers though, this is something I now need to sort out for mum as the hospital just seem to think if she managers to get to the loo, with a frame, in hospital once or twice she's fine to be sent home on her own and make do with a couple of 20 mins from some carers. She's most definitely not but I'm finding it very hard to get through the hospital check-box 'we care but will do nothing' bureaucracy. With her being old, frail with serious existing health issues and possibly technically malnourished due to the poor hospital care she's received she does need some full time professional care.
On a more positive note, I did visit her again yesterday and it looks like the caught the latest pneumonia infection in time and I've dropped off a weeks worth of supplies and gone back home for a few days.
One interesting thing, and back to COVID. When mum was in a last week they treated her as covid free 5 days after her positive test. Two weeks later she now testing positive and they are treating it as infectious? I assume it's from her original infection and she's not infectious but who knows.
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By full time profesional care do you mean a care home/residential home? You have to be in a REAL bad way to get the state to fund that....fine if you're loaded and can pay the high cost. I would also guess you are not present when the hospital social worker interviews your mum (before discharge) about how she is managing at home- most people will say they can manage fine at home just to get out of hospital and it used to be the case that the SW wouldn't ask any searching questions to find out how your mum was REALLY managing... you need to be present as an advocate for your mum at these interviews.
PS you are an UNPAID carer and that is what a carers assessment is about ... a profesional carer is a totally different and irrelevat thing for that.
PPS Your mum might be interested in ' EXTRA CARE' if indeed there are any nearby...it's a sort of half way house between sheltered accomodation and a residentia home.
Once she's medically fit, i.e. recovered from her infections, she needs convalescence. She needs to recover lost weight, muscle strength and fitness. This needs to be full time. Th hospital sent her home without the ability to go to the loo throughout the day or the ability to get dressed. She has a care package of three 20min visits but if anything goes wrong such as soiling herself she has to wait hours for someone to help, and not eat or drink. She is also likely to fall over and cannot get up due to existing problems with her shoulders. I have been told by a senior nurse involved with her care package that in her area they have a small convalescence hospital and this would seem ideal. We have not been offered this so do not know if it is available.
I assume the social worker role at mums hospital is provided by occupational therapists OTs. If so I have spoken at length to the OTs on the wards and being dissatisfied by two of them raised my concerns with their manager who seems to be in charge of all the OTs. I have had a lengthy phone call and received a lengthy email. However nothing meaningful seems to have been done about them and I need to speak to her again and bluntly question why they think it is acceptable to send a malnourished patient home who cannot look after herself and why did they think a minimal care package was suitable. I will ask for a single point of contact and accountability for any further release.
I know I am currently fulfilling a role of carer but I don't need to be paid for it and I also cannot provide all the care she needs. I am also not able to do it full time. Mum qualifies for state care due to her financial situation (even though the hospital initially only told me about private options).
Longer term I will sort out a care or nursing home but I believe the hospital is responsible for at least getting mum to the physical level she went in with.
When i escaped the hospital i was in after 3 months, they wanted me to go into what they term a Step Down facility for further rehab. Myself having often delivered to these places as part of my employment and knowing them and many staff personally working at them i was filled with abject horror at the prospect but luckily ( thank God ) for me my eldest sister having herself worked in the care sector some years previously took me in and took care of me ( i was in a very bad way ) for many months.
I don’t know why I’ve mentioned this really to be perfectly frank ( whoever Frank is ) but there you go.
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I hope you're fully recovered now? It does give me something more to go on and there appears to be a suitable "Intermediate Care Unit". I remember when mum was in the same hospital a few years ago some other elderly patients were in horror at going to one particular centre so I understand your comments, that may well be another thing to sort out. It's strange that there has been no consideration this time, I shall ask why not.
In an ideal world mum would be nearer but other people stopped her moving down to us and our house isn't at all suitable. I try to do as much as I can but her latest stay has meant I've spend 6 weeks away and not working so it's going to difficult to spend several more weeks away. Trying to explain this to the hospital has also fallen on deaf ears.
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