Oh bugger. Old folk.

[fossyant]

MIL and FIL came up to their caravan yesterday. Neither great health, MIL disabled on right side from stroke. Anyway she managed to tumble at 4am whilst my missus was helping her to the loo. As she is rather heavy, it took us half an hour to get her up off the floor. Had to call ambulance due to complaints of pain in her bad side arm and leg.

Fortunately the crew had a chair that will fit in a caravan and managed to get her out. I also built a ramp last year as would have been buggered if not, as she is too heavy to lift.

Down side is fractured ankle and wrist both now plastered. Going to be kept in, but the fun now starts as we are 70 miles from home and we are due back at work and school tomorrow. FIL not really up to looking after himself very well.

Oh and the in laws have booked a cruise in August. I hope they have the insurance sorted. Nightmare both of them for falling ill on holiday.

Fun day ahead, FIL still asleep so not told him yet. Knackered.

 

[swansonj]

Not much anyone can say other than good luck. But good luck anyway.

 

[fossyant]

It also reminds me to stay active all my life and not get fat. Neither my folks or in laws have ever exercised.

 

[Saluki]

Oh my word, what a time for you. I looked after my ex MIL when she had a fall and FIL was not interested in helping out. I was off work for 8 weeks then Norwich Union dispensed with my services after my unpaid break.
Some work places are very good should you have to take time off to care for a relly though. You might want to give social services a call to see if they can help at all, especially with your in-laws being away from home. They might be able to sort transport home and ongoing care.

I hope it all sorts for all concerned.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

bad news all round, nothing useful to offer but best of luck with it all

 

[ianrauk]

NIghtmare....sorry to hear about this fossy...

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Looks like it ought to be a 'Social Admission' to Hospital, or failing that, Home-Care organised by GPs/Hospital social workers

 

[Sara_H]

MIL and FIL came up to their caravan yesterday. Neither great health, MIL disabled on right side from stroke. Anyway she managed to tumble at 4am whilst my missus was helping her to the loo. As she is rather heavy, it took us half an hour to get her up off the floor. Had to call ambulance due to complaints of pain in her bad side arm and leg.

Fortunately the crew had a chair that will fit in a caravan and managed to get her out. I also built a ramp last year as would have been buggered if not, as she is too heavy to lift.

Down side is fractured ankle and wrist both now plastered. Going to be kept in, but the fun now starts as we are 70 miles from home and we are due back at work and school tomorrow. FIL not really up to looking after himself very well.

Oh and the in laws have booked a cruise in August. I hope they have the insurance sorted. Nightmare both of them for falling ill on holiday.

Fun day ahead, FIL still asleep so not told him yet. Knackered.

How much help does FIL need to look after himself? It may be best if you take him home if he can self care there and leave MIL in the care of the hospital she's been admitted to.
Do they live locally to you? If so, I'd start pushing for them to transfer her to your local hospital as soon as her condition allows.
What a nightmare.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Yikes, sorry to hear this fossy.

It can be hard enough when a relative is hospitalised in your own area, my Dad has recently been in hospital followed by a stint in a care home, and while it might seem harsh to say, it does put a huge strain on everyone, thankfully
he's back home now but I feel your strain.

Hope everyone gets all the help they need and eveything is back on track quick sticks for all concerned.

 

[Dayvo]

Sorry to hear that, Fossy! Getting older and more vulnerable isn't easy for us to observe in our parents/in-laws, so it must be even worse when you're that person at that stage of life.

My mother has quite an aggressive Parkinson's (mostly with balance, even when she's sitting down) and my father (since March) has developed virtually full-blown Alzheimer's: he didn't know that his daughter had a brother: she hasn't - she's got two. He even thinks that my step-mother is his daily helper.

So, as you said, Fossy, live an active life and enjoy it as much as possible.

 

[ufkacbln]

This will sound callous, but bear with me and you will see it isn't.



Now she is in Hospital it is a good opportunity to have their home and standard of living assessed.


The Trust has an incentive to get her out and get the bed freed.

There is also a good trigger to discuss these issues with the in-laws and see how they are really managing

If you refuse to take her on the grounds that the house is unsuitable, or care is needed then it is surprisingly how quickly those requirements can be met and packages put in place

This may actually be a chance to improve their standard of living

 

[Crackle]

That's grim Fossy. Hope it all goes as smoothly as it possibly can under the circumstances.

 

[Sara_H]

This will sound callous, but bear with me and you will see it isn't.



Now she is in Hospital it is a good opportunity to have their home and standard of living assessed.


The Trust has an incentive to get her out and get the bed freed.

There is also a good trigger to discuss these issues with the in-laws and see how they are really managing

If you refuse to take her on the grounds that the house is unsuitable, or care is needed then it is surprisingly how quickly those requirements can be met and packages put in place

This may actually be a chance to improve their standard of living

I agree. You're holding all the cards so to speak, whilst the MIL is in hospital.

 

[I like Skol]

This will sound callous, but bear with me and you will see it isn't.



Now she is in Hospital it is a good opportunity to have their home and standard of living assessed.


The Trust has an incentive to get her out and get the bed freed.

There is also a good trigger to discuss these issues with the in-laws and see how they are really managing

If you refuse to take her on the grounds that the house is unsuitable, or care is needed then it is surprisingly how quickly those requirements can be met and packages put in place

This may actually be a chance to improve their standard of living

^^^^^ This is what I was thinking as I read your post Fossy. This could be the tipping point for your in laws when they/you/your family might have to accept they are past the point of living independently and would actually be much safer and better cared for in some kind of supervised housing.

In the short term, get your lad back to school, I guess you and Mrs Fossyant will have to split up for a few days as you can't be in both places at once.

Good luck mate

 

[fossyant]

They both have carers in 4 times a day at home, morning, lunch, tea and bed time. Thats been working well but she has recently been put on a massive dose of gabapentin. We said she shouldnt go for that dose, from 200 up to either 600 or 800. I had a small dose with my shoulder but binned it after it made me feel very ill.

What happened was that my wife got up with her but she fell just as my wife's back was turned.

It has allowed us to discuss with doctors about this dose and that my wife says her thyroid and vit d levels are checked. Looks like these have been done, but she will have to stay in for about 5 weeks to get levels ok. We arent sure whats been checked as we've had to come home. At least she will be getting checked out as Mrs Fossy's mum has refused to get these things checked. My missus sister is also around at her caravan in the area.

Some good news then as my missus persistance with her folks and the hospital staff might get this sorted. We are up in North Wales most weekends.

We will look into what can be fone at night, but the house now has things covered to help her, rails, stair lift, riser chair and a commode in the bedroom. They also have an alarm system with the carers. But at the caravan there is limited space although thats been adapted.

Hopefully she will be much improved if they sort out any deficiencies

Be persistent with your folks if they wont listen. Its taken a long time for my MIL to listen to her daughter .