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Elderly parents

No future planning and now crisis

135 replies

disappearingfish · 23/01/2024 20:59

SIL is 83 and her health, mobility and balance have been deteriorating steadily over the last few years. She has resisted any real interventions, just the bare minimum of adaptations.

She fell this week and spent 6 hours on the floor before the paramedics came to get her up. Now she's frightened of being alone and she's taken to ringing everyone in her address book and guilting them to coming over to fetch and carry for her, pressuring them to stay overnight. It's a flipping nightmare. DH (her brother) is her only local family so is being run ragged, guilted all the while she refuses to use the new electric recliner chair, the new accessible bed etc. etc.

She does have a carer but she's only supposed to pop in a few times a day and she's done nothing about any other care. She's off her head on meds half the time (including stashes of pills she's ferreted away which are years past their expiry date). She's shouting at everyone who doesn't jump to attention, including the doctor and DH. Her lovely kind neighbour has been in tears at the abuse she's had. I get that she's frightened but my god it's hard.

There's no LPOA or anything else in place that can enable people to make decisions in her best interest. Her children live far away, have their own lives and families and are doing their best. No real point to this post but just had to vent. We saw this coming years ago and have tried and tried to tackle it but she wouldn't listen.

OP posts:
disappearingfish · 20/03/2024 07:18

SIL was taken back to hospital overnight. We thinking she's had a massive stroke. DH is there now but hasn't seen any doctors or had an update yet.

She has been very distressed, unable to hold any kind of conversation and has stopped feeding herself.

The decline since Christmas, when we were all together, is pretty shocking.

OP posts:
MereDintofPandiculation · 20/03/2024 09:27

@disappearingfish Flowers Yes, declines aren’t gentle and continuous, they tend to go in fits and starts.

disappearingfish · 24/03/2024 07:59

Final-ish update. SIL did not recover after her stroke. She died yesterday morning. We all got to see her before she went. It's an awful thing to say but it was a blessing as she would have hated being alive but helpless.

I feel so sad for everyone that her last few months were so unhappy and chaotic. The family are all a bit broken so it will take sensitivity and diplomacy to bring everyone back together.

OP posts:
LadyMacbethssweetArabianhand · 24/03/2024 08:08

My condolences to you all. I know what you mean about it being a relief though. My mum has been in hospital for nearly a year. She has vascular disease and is slowly deteriorating. She is doubly incontinent, can't walk and has to be hoisted. She has almost no short term memory and some evidence of dementia and delirium. Now her swallowing reflex is poor. Of course she didn't do poa and has been stubborn about exercise before this all happened so here we are. I wish she would go to sleep and not wake. It's a horrible existence.

EdithStourton · 24/03/2024 08:34

I also understand about the relief. MIL had dementia and was in pain, confused and often afraid during her last 18 months or so. It put a lot of stress on her family and she was really miserable. Luckily we did have POA.

FiniteSagacity · 24/03/2024 09:48

@disappearingfish I’m so sorry for your loss and for the distress of the last few months 💐

Misthios · 24/03/2024 10:16

midgetastic · 28/01/2024 10:17

But most people don't see the point of downsizing when they are still full of life

Just watch escape to the country !

This really resonates with me. My parents took early retirement from public sector jobs about 25 years ago when they were in their mid 50s, moved to an inherited house in a village so tiny there is no shop, no church, no pub. Just houses and a school which serves all the equally tiny surrounding villages. Nearest shop 4 miles away, nearest town with doctor/bank etc 6 miles away. Old, cold stone cottage with lots of draughts and ongoing maintenance, massive garden and a field behind it which is also owned by them.

Was fine for the first 15 - 20 years when they were fit and able. Lots of holidays and time in the garden. Then dad was diagnosed with dementia and it went downhill rapidly from there, mum is now on her own and needs to drive for everything. She's still able to do that now in her late 70s but will she always be able? She doesn't "do" online so no shopping deliveries or prescription deliveries.

This rural idea of a tiny village in the peace and quiet, in a traditional cottage is lovely but the realities of cleaning out a coal fire every morning and everything being a drive away is a nightmare in your 80s. We live 1h 45m away too.

Misthios · 24/03/2024 10:18

I'm so sorry for your loss @disappearingfish - it's real mixed feelings when something like this happens.

FictionalCharacter · 24/03/2024 14:10

@Misthios They had 20 years of a great quality of life though. Your mum obviously needs to change things now, but there was no need for them to deprive themselves of living where they wanted to for those 20 years of happy retirement. I do agree about that particular house though.

HamBone · 24/03/2024 14:16

I’m so sorry for your loss, @disappearingfish . As @Misthios says , it’s about quality of life and your SIL was very unwell. She’s at peace now and your family can remember the good times and heal. 💐

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