Tuesday 24th April

From PCUK:
My dad has been a bit "loose" this last week, but he's barely eating anyway. He was taking two Fortisip drinks per day (600 cals each) plus an egg whisked in milk, a cup of hot choc and half a cup of soup. So now he's decided that the Fortisip is making his bowels loose and so has stopped drinking them. I'm not overly happy about this as it means his calorie intake has plummeted but I'm giving him today and then will chat with him about it tomorrow.

He is still taking Oramorph - I thought he'd stopped but I think I misheard something mum told me. He's been very upbeat and chatty since last night, which is good, but I know to expect some down days, too.

We see Nurses from Moor Lane (Mary, Brian and Gail mainly).

My mum is doing ok - she is disabled with arthritis, which means that she often looks perfectly well, but is racked with pain right through her body. She can look after herself and dad to the extent of making meals, tidying the flat (they moved to a smaller place 4 years ago to make life easier for themselves) and so on. However she can't stand or walk for long, doesn't drive, and just generally can feel fairly rotten as a result of her pain. She also has COPD (lung disease) but seems to have this under control with medication. Bless her - she's soldiering on really well but I know she is feeling the strain of it all. On an emotional level she is being strong (she says she isn't - I think she's doing very well) but I know she's devastated about what is happening to Dad now, and what is ahead for him.

If my sister and I aren't around, my mum would struggle with helping Dad - she can't get down to empty his catheter bag, move or lift him up in bed etc, so that is why we have help from Home Care, as we can't guarantee that we will be here every day at the times when Dad needs help.