To isolate my house with elderly family?

[Deepblues]

I live and look after my Nan full time -she’s 90 and in okay heath (nothing major but the common cold wipes her out for a couple of days).

She has community carers who come out 4x a day, they don’t really do anything practical but more social/company for Nan.

Should I literally just lock our door, ban visitors and just wait for all of this to blow over?

I’m sorry that you haven’t been inundated with replies yet, so I’m bumping you up to the top of the page.

IF you’re fully prepared with decent stocks of food et cetera and you’re certain of being able to receive supermarket deliveries in future, I would.

There appear to be disruptions of deliveries to my local supermarket at the moment. Was there at 9.30 this morning hoping it wouldn’t be chock-a-block and it was MOBBED! No disinfectant, no bread flour, no sterilised milk and I bought the last two half-dozen eggs. I might have been a bit early for the fresh bread or they might just not have received a delivery. My money’s on the “no delivery”. I’m concerned that this could get worse if or when their driver start dropping like flies.

Good luck to you and your nan!

@bitter

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

We do have a healthy stash (my Nan has been preparing since WW2) and has always been a hoarder.

The annoying thing is that we always have an allotment in the garden but last year we dug it up to our paths in/raised beds to make it wheelchair friendly.

I am thinking we’re go stir crazy if we’re in our home for three months.

I’m not sure at what point we close our door as I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to her.

I would in your position too, at least for a few weeks. There are simply too many selfish and stupid people out there not following guidelines and therefore increasing the risk.

I’d do it now and risk the risk of going stir-crazy. Make sure you inform the carers that you won’t be needing them for a bit.

Are you saying that you’ve converted some of the allotment to raised beds? You need to get germinating asap!

At least you have a garden so you will get fresh air and maybe be able to shout over the fence for a distraction. With the phone, books, telly and the internet I expect you can keep yourselves sane. Not sure I can say the same for myself as I live alone.

@BitterAndOnlySlightlyTwisted

I’ve called my mother to see if she wants to cone join us as she’s put herself in quarantine (lots of health issues) and she lives alone. She’s worried about the loneliness but glad to have her own space.

I’m just worried if we put ourselves under house arrest for a month - we’ll need to come up at some point for air and don’t want to be coming up at the thick of it.

I’m googling how long it takes to grow potstoes

You are a wonderful daughter/granddaughter

I have asked my parents to isolate themselves - in their 70s, both with serious underlying conditions. DH or I will get their shopping, prescriptions etc and deliver it to their doorstep. They have agreed for now but I'm not sure how long it will be before they decide to pop to the shops. At the moment, I have to go to work and DS1 is at school but we are minimising our contact outside of that. I am very worried about them.

What does your nan want OP? The worst of this is going to be later.

I’m impressed that she’s 90 and a cold only knocks her out a couple of days, I’m asthmatic and a cold knocks me out for a week at least!

You can go out OP. I appreciate your Nan is 90 so it's not going to be the easiest but you can go to the park / open spaces for some fresh air.

I'd absolutely limit contact from other adults as much as you can.

I'd think about the carers tho - if they observe proper hygiene, it should be fine. Remember, the virus is not airborne, it's droplet-transmitted.

This means you have to touch something to get it - or those droplets have to be transferred via your mouth, nose or eyes. It can't just get through on your skin, for example.

So if the carers come, which might offer some support, they need to observe excellent hygiene and be in good health themselves.

You need to remember that even amongst the elderly the serious cases are skewed more towards those people with pre-existing conditions. If at 90 your nan is well and doesn’t have these conditions she should be okay provided the carers follow transmission protocols. At her age a change in daily routine / socialisation can prove fatal too.

I discussed this, to the extent one can, with DF (92) who has dementia but is otherwise quite fit, and manages to live alone supported by carers.

He is quite a sociable soul and likes to go to the local pub where he is well known and to lunch clubs organised for the elderly. He also goes to church and a day centre etc.

He does not want to go to a residential home even for respite care. And he is quite clear that he wants to keep on going out. I honestly think that 3 months of isolation at his age would tip him over the edge.

In many ways he has had his life and he is going to die of something in the next couple of years. The cruel thing about dementia is that if you do not die of an illness or organ failure - you die a doubly incontinent, non verbal, shadow of what you once were. I think that the person he once was would prefer to be taken by corona virus rather than wait around for that to happen.

Just an impossible situation.

I think that’s why I’m on the fence.

She’s such a sociable little bean. The one thing that keeps her going is being positive. If she starts to feel down so does her health.

I’ve spoke to nan and we’re going to take precautions; stop going to crowded places etc but still allowing people in the house. We’re strict on hand washing currently and the agency has finally implemented putting in gloves when they come over. I’ve also told the agency if they end up with Skelton staff due to school closures cancel our calls as there’s elderly without no-one.

It looks like the elderly will be put in isolation for four months.

I’ll also need to go in isolation too. My partner can work from home. We haven’t prepped much - we won’t starve for a month but four months is beyond a stretch. They reckon that 80% will end up catching it and I know that a large % of those will be using good hygiene.

We don’t have a choice. We’re going in isolation. I’m trying to think what things we’ll need.

Deep, they can’t enforce it. I panicked as well when I got home and heard it, but really, they can’t enforce it. Are they going to Taser OAPs in the shops?

.... or put those with dementia in internment camps?

Deep, they can’t enforce it. I panicked as well when I got home and heard it, but really, they can’t enforce it. Are they going to Taser OAPs in the shops?

They can enforce it under the new legislation. I appreciate there's a manpower issue though.

Hasa I didn't see the Hancock interview. I wonder what the legislation will be.

I'm now spending today "prepping" to go and stay at mum's before this kicks off. We'll have to try to argue that I was already there and that she needs me. I can't think of another way round it.

I don't know whether to expect that over 70s in isolation are literally not allowed visits or what.

I’m just trying to keep her alive.

She’s got the old school mentality of ‘what will be will be’. She’s not bothered that she won’t be treated in hospital as she won’t be a priority as if told you ‘I wanted to die at home and never in a hospital’.

My partner understands the severity but doesn’t understand that we’ve got to isolate ourselves from the outside population. There’s going to be no restaurants/parties/non essential outings for us. I’m thinking of in the nicer weather we could have some people in the garden. I’m not sure if we’re going to have to 100% isolate ourselves meaning no shops for us. Fuck knows.

I’ve cancelled the carers as they turned up last night full of cold. They shouldn’t be turning up to work like that any time of the year but not especially what’s going on atm.

OP in that case, I share your mum’s mentality!

I don’t know if I’m becoming paranoid. I can’t stop reading threads/news (no tabloids).

My Nan is doing well, she now realised this is serious and we’re going to be taking this seriously.

Other adults live in our home. I’m not sure what to do. There’s no point us two going into isolation if they don’t? We’ve came up with a plan incase any of us get symptoms to move out ASAP to help prevent Nan getting anything.

In my heart I want to put the whole house under isolation (if the others don’t want to they can stay elsewhere) but it feels harsh to throw others out - apart from hand washing they’re not really taking it seriously.

How long before official guidelines from the government?