Thursday, 7 May 2009

A day in A&E with my mum

This is not what I wanted to be writing about on my blog today.

Yesterday, my elderly and frail mum had a bad fall and broke her right wrist in two places. I called an ambulance and spent most of the day with her in hospital - first in the A&E dept where her wrist was X-rayed and plastered, then sitting by her bedside while doctors, occupational therapists and social workers decided what to do next.

The problem is, my mum can normally only walk around with the help of two sticks or a zimmer frame. At the moment, she only has the use of one arm and can't even get out of chairs without a lot of help, let alone walk around unaided. I was very worried that if she came home, she would just fall over again while trying to get out of bed or something. (My mum is very independent minded and however much I tell her to call for help if she needs it, I know she would try to get up by herself).

After much time phoning around, a social worker eventually found a place for her in a very nice short-term care home run by a hospice trust. She will be there for a few weeks until her wrist has healed.

I'll be going to visit her there as often as I can.

I must say that everyone I dealt with - the ambulance crew, doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, social workers and care home staff - were lovely and as helpful as could be. However, the fact that it took hours to find a care home demonstrates the shortage of places for the elderly in this country.

While this emergency was happening, however, I did wonder whether this was some effect of the destructive aspect of the phoenix energy we raised at the Phoenix Rising workshop. If it is, then I'm going to get that bird and roast it for my next Christmas dinner!

4 comments:

Bibliogirl said...

Best wishes to your mum for her recovery...

Catty said...

Best wishes to mum and to you!

slothgoth said...

Big hugs to you and gentle energy being wished towards you and your mother.

Badwitch said...

Thanks so much to everyone who has sent best wishes and healing energy to my mum. I have just come back from visiting her in the care home. She seems to be in very good hands - I was impressed with all they are doing to make mum comfortable and happy. They are also working hard to get her the right physiotherapy treatment to make sure she recovers fully.