Mum's Ankles Become Swollen

Mum's Ankles Become Swollen

Shortly after all the birthday celebrations for Mum, we noticed her ankles - and legs - were swelling up. Apart from the odd times when one of her knees might be swollen due to arthritis - and which would reasonably swiftly go down again - it was quite frightening, to see how large her legs had become, in such a short space of time.

Once a month I go to a poetry session at the local library, and the December meeting was dedicated to a free choice of work, but in fact focussed mainly on sweet and savoury nibbles; we had just got into our stride, and I had had my turn to perform a poem, when I felt my mobile phone vibrate. It was worrying news that when the ladies had arrived at 4.30 p.m. (and after I had left for the Library, of course), they had got Mum up, and noticed the skin on her leg was weeping, and dripping water. To begin with, they had thought perhaps her pad had slipped! but then realised Mum could not possibly have soaked all the sheets that way, or that far down.

I left the meeting straight away and drove home; in the meantime, the District Nurse had been called, and she promised to come round and see Mum as quickly as possible.

We kept calm and carried on giving Mum her dinner, and were very impressed when the head District Nurse arrived a couple of hours later. She examined Mum, and put dressings on her leg and bandaged it up, leaving us with a bag full of various pads and more bandages. We said we would call the Doctor in the morning, in case there was some infection present, and Mum needed antibiotics.

Well, it was quite a shock to see this development in Mum's legs; I know oedema is common, but to see the skin stretched so tightly that it splits, and water leaks out of it, is a complication we could well do without.

In the morning, I rang the surgery, and our lovely GP came round later in the day. She said she did not think Mum's leg was infected, but gravity was causing the problem, and so in future we must try to keep Mum's legs elevated as much as possible.

Mum usually gets up for breakfast at about 9.00 a.m., and then goes back to bed at 12.30-1.00 p.m, for her afternoon nap. The ladies come back at 4.30, when Mum gets up for dinner, and then she is back in bed by about 10.00 p.m.

The problem is, it would be better for Mum to be in bed a lot more to alleviate the problem with her legs, but then that's not very good for her chest! and it's difficult to strike the right balance. After this problem began, we started experimenting with various footstools and cushions, to elevate Mum's legs whilst she is sitting in the chair.

Sometimes it has worked well, but at other times Mum will kick the footstool over, and lose any elevation altogether! We also bought another table for her, as sitting with her feet up meant the original table was now too low, and she kept bumping her knees underneath it.

Since then, we have had regular visits from the District Nurses, and we also now ourselves regularly change any bandages on Mum's legs. We have to take care, because bandaging them securely enough so that everything stays in place in bed in one thing - the swelling goes down when she is lying in bed, with her legs raised, but once she is up and in the chair, if her legs start to swell, the bandages can then be too tight, and cut into her. We have seen it once or twice, where her flesh has been bulging over the top of the crepe, and that can become painful for Mum. It's quite a balancing act, but we are getting better at it, and forecasting what we need to do, to make Mum really comfortable.

The original chair we bought for Mum nearly 8 years ago, was very nice, but all the adjustments and leg height variations we were trying to achieve for her, had to be made by dint of footstools and cushions. The carers knew what we were trying to do, and then Home Sweet Home Care made a wonderful suggestion. They told us they had a superb, electrically-controlled leather chair, with all the options of reclining or sitting up available at the touch of a button, with a foot rest that could be raised to lift Mum's feet to an optimum level. They thought it would be ideal for Mum, and we would be very welcome to have it

With help from the lovely people at Home Sweet Home Care, we got the chair home in the New Year, and installed it in Mum's bedroom. Apart from all the obvious medical benefits, it is such a beautiful chair! Made of mellow, buttery leather, it is deliciously soft, and Mum is so comfortable in it; if she dozes off for a little while, it supports her perfectly well.

It is such a boon, and so very kind and thoughtful of Home Sweet Home Care to think of Mum; we feel very blessed to have it.