Monday 8 June 2009

My mum's wrist is on the mend

I took mum to the hospital today for a check-up on her wrist, after she broke it last month. It is good news. Her plaster has been taken off and the doctor said her wrist is healing very well. His actual words were: "You must have been doing all the right things to look after her."

As much as I like compliments, I don't think I deserve all the praise. The people who really helped her heal so fast were the staff at the hospital and nursing home - and all those who sent healing energy and get well wishes. Thanks so very much!

Mum now has a wrist brace to wear for a little while longer and has to exercise her wrist to get strength back, but it looks as though she will soon make a full recovery.

While I was at the hospital, I learnt that this week - June 8 to June 14 - is Carers Week, so when I got home, I took a look at the website http://www.carersweek.org/.

The website has lots of useful information for carers, but also gave the results of recent surveys. It said:

"The public rank carers alongside the emergency services in terms of their contribution to society. Six out of seven people believe that carers make a valuable contribution, behind only nurses and firefighters.

"The overwhelming majority also agree that carers’ benefits are far too low, with over three-quarters stating that the current level of Carers’ Allowance is unreasonable.

"But when asked to estimate the number of carers in the UK, 8 out of 10 were unable to pick the correct figure of 6 million, with almost three-quarter underestimating by over 4.5 million. Meanwhile a Carers Week survey highlighted the shocking number of carers who have been pushed to extreme levels of stress and depression as a result of caring."
My mum is on the mend and will soon hopefully regain some level of independence, meaning I can return to work and stop being a full-time carer. Many other carers are not so lucky - I hope they soon get the help and recognition they fully deserve.

Links
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/05/day-in-with-my-mum.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/06/caring-isnt-easy.html
http://www.carersweek.org/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/05/spell-for-healing-and-get-well-wishes.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/06/guan-yin-goddess-of-week.html

5 comments:

Antony said...

Yeah the expections of carers are above and beyond, but people do this for their family.

I think they should be massively supported by the govenment for the contributions they give to society. By support I don't just mean financial but also carer networks - for social support, etc.

Antony x

Antony said...

Hi,

Just come across this article on Twitter you may be interested in:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31107319

Hugs,

Antony

Badwitch said...

Antony - thanks very much for the link anc comments!

Anonymous said...

Hey! I took care of my mother for five years before she died. It was no problem as i truly loved her. I was able to work and help her. I would never have let her go into a nursing home. I hope your mother recuperates fast for her and your sakes. She took care of me when i was growing up and helped me in adulthood, so i had no problem with it. :)

Badwitch said...

Thanks for hoping my mum gets better - she is still recuperating but is becoming more like her old self every day. I agree that it is good when family members care for their elderly. Nursing homes can be depressing places.