Sunday 21 October 2007

first time nerves

well,my first  attempt  so  bear with  me lol.  for  those  of  you who dont know  me im  morton,  most  people shorten it  to  mort. feel  free.im  54,from north norfolk  on the coast. im a   full time carer  for  my elderly  mother,jean.86 bless  her    and  cripled  with arthritis.   why am i  blogging?  sometimes its  ruddy  hard  being a carer,and  perhaps,out  there in aol land,theres  someone  sitting  in  front  of  their computer screens,thinking  they  are  the only ones,and  that no-one  understands.  well,join  the club.lol. mums no trouble,bless.im  lucky,theres  many  older people,(and  lot younger) take  more  looking  after  than  my  mum. shes  been dependant on me for the past  10 years  or  more,and bloody hates  it      lol.  she  has to use  a  frame  to walk,and can only manage  a  short distance.otherwise  its  the  dreaded wheelchair.

  Im a private  sort of person,and  i dont  often  complain   but  just  lately its  been   getting harder   for  me  to  be in my normal  caring  carer  mode.so,i  bit the bullet,and rang social services.   to  ask  for a  carers  assessment. as  i really  can  do  with a little  break. 10 years  with  no  hols,always  on hand,   can wear  you down,sometimes  without  you realising  its  happening. anyway,i  spoke  to nice  lady,explained and  asked  for  an assessment. bearing  in mind,in all  those 10 years ,ive seen  a  social worker  once,and that  was  to request  the  bath  to be  removed  and a shower  fitted.which  was  done.  in  due course  a lady  social worker  arrived,all  happy  and  smiling  sweetly.  both  me   and  mum hated  her  on  sight    lol. she  asked  mum  loads  of  questions,with  me  sitting  there  thinking,hmmmm    odd  careres  assessment,then  she  proposed  that  mum  has  a  carer come   in  5  days  a  week  for  half  an  hour  in  the  mornings  to  wash,and  help  her  dress.thankfully  mum  readily  agreed.  also,would  see  that  occupational  therapist,( O T) would  come  and  see  us  and  see  what help  she can  give,ok  there  you  are,ive  done  my  bit   goodbye.  oh,and  by  the  way           would  you  like a  carers  assessment  morton???    ermmmm,i  thought  that  was  what   i  was going  to  have??       she  gave  me  a  nice  form  to  fill  in,smiled  sweetly,said  post  that  to  me   wont  you  when  youve  done  it,and  went.     oh.  lol.      sooooo,i  filled  it  in,sent  it  off.

after a  few days,the carers  got  in touch,came and  saw  mum           and  arranged  a  carer  to come  5  days  a  week    at  7am  to   wash,dress,and  shower  once  a  week. tracy,bless  her,started  the  next  week,and  mum loves  her.all  i  hear  in  mornings  is  them laughing,and  when  mums  dressed,and  tracys  had  her  tea,(  black,no  sugar!!!  good  god.)  mum  is  ready  for  the  day,which  for  her  is  her  beloved   telly.she  loves  it.  daytime  tv  was  made  for  my  mum,and   also QVC,that  much laughed at shopping  channel.  i  take  her  out  couple  times  a week  in  the  car.

now,remember  that  assessment?   long  time past???   last  week,the  OT  social   worker  came,and   has  got  us  fitted  a  shower  seat,so  mum can  be  washed  more  easily,mu  a  new  walker,etc.  lovely  lady. sooooo,  she  then  said,"what  about  you morton?have  you  had  an  assessment?"   ermmmm   no.  it  appears  theres  no  record  of  me  asking  for  one  either!!!!  she    promised  to  sort  it  for  me,and  i   await,with  baited   breath,what  happens  next.         that  will  do   for  my  first  attempt.         a  bit  rambling.  and  doubt  it  will  get  read       but  hey      i  do  have  plenty  of  time,and  this  good  way  to  fill  it.  take care  all

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

well done morton, i didnt know this existed. dunno what to say now feel a bit nervous myself lol your mum is one very lucky lady to have you and i do hope you get that break your after ...you deserve it..lyn

Anonymous said...

well i think ur mums very lucky to have u mort an yeah its all wrong the way its done being a carer myself i know sum people get everything sum get nothin an its usually the nice people who get nothin  ita one of those things if ur face fits  or how loud u shout  u get it
being a carer is hard work its a 24/7 job when u care for ur own mort its bad enough doin wot i do
pity theres not more people like u around cos on my job i see our old folk left  on there own an there familys to busy with there  own lives to bother an thats one in five familys
i have just cum out of a job were i looked after a lady 41 i did 40hrs with her an more treated her like family but family decided they wonted 2 take care on 3 girls left with out work this the same family that never visted
it lasted a week just heard  2day family cant cope wont care back in  may not get r firm now  all 2 do with money
anyway im ramblin a bit now but  mort u r an angel u shud get more help  u fight 4 it luv
hope u get there in the end luvly man
                                                     bernie xxxx
                                     

Anonymous said...

well done and welcome to the mad world of bloggers, a brilliant way to spit venom at the authorities and get negative feelings out of your system, dont know where i would be without mine xxxxx Nina  
PS you are now installed in my favourites, and i will be here to check spelling, punctuation and grammar, and will get over for that coffee soon x

Anonymous said...

just read ur second blog hun ...your doing well.  i know you find life a drag sometimes not what your doing but the no money and being in such pain and it really doesnt seem fair (and it isnt) theres nothing more can be done but to lose yourself in a fantasy like dream world of the net which can be so fulfilling. we have spent many hours talking laughing and yes dreaming of better things to comeand if not this life im sure we will meet in the next...till next time

your lyn xxxxx