Subtle Changes

Subtle Changes

It's only when you look back that you realise how much things have changed. To being with, the downhill trend is almost imperceptible, but then, in a relatively short space of time, it becomes clear that there have been several steps "down," but only a couple of steps back up again.

Since the beginning of 2017, we have had to work at lot harder to get Mum to drink her tea. We have tried a straw (not very easy with tea leaves at the bottom of the cup, until we we swapped loose leaf tea for tea bags), a tommy tippee mug, and finally feeding her the tea on a spoon.

We have to keep reminding her that when her GP has prescribed antibiotics for her, the medicine is always in a suspension, and she takes every dose off a spoon. She manages to get it all down and swallowed in one mouthful, and drinking tea off a spoon is no different. She needs prompting to open her mouth, to keep sitting up straight so the liquid doesn't spill out from the side of her mouth, and then to swallow.  There have been a couple of times when Mum has taken tea off the spoon and then given me big smile and taken a breath in to speak: result - spluttering, coughing and then a sneeze or two until she gets the tea back up.

In fact, when all is going well, using the spoon to help Mum to drink can be quicker than any other method. We start off with a round of the names of all the pussy cats that we know - "one for Blackie, one for Pushkin, on for Tiddlywinks, etc..", followed by the names of our family; each round can be done in less than ten minutes, and maybe 6 or 7 rounds will see every last drop of tea "down the hatch,"so if we allow an hour, that will also give time to have little rests and maybe a bite or two of coconut sponge cake, in between drinks.

There has also been an increase in the wetting of clothes, which necessitates a change of at least Mum's nightie.  If her jumper and cardigan are still dry, that is a bonus.

Back in 2012. when Mum first came home to live with us, it was just one change of clothes in the morning; it was rare for her to have an "accident," or take the pad off, which resulted in her being completely soaking wet (or worse). The bedsheets were changed once a week, on a Friday; an extra set of bedlinen during the week, was required only on rare occasions.

Over time - and especially since about the middle of 2015 - it has gradually got worse, and sheets are now need changing more frequently. We give a silent cheer when the inco sheets have done their job, and the bottom sheet has remained dry.