Muskie
Muskie was the primary carer for her mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease. In order to best care for her mother, Muskie invested time and energy into researching things to help her mother and ways to adapt her mother’s home. She also put significant effort into ensuring that her mother was still surrounded by things she liked and brought her comfort.
Muskie cared for her mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease.
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Muskie found out her mother had Alzheimer’s disease after her mother rang her and told her she had received an MRI scan, which showed her mother’s brain had shrunk. Despite the diagnosis, her mother was positive and anticipated that she would need to attend the memory clinic at the local hospital. However, following her diagnosis, she was not contacted again by her GP. As the years passed, Muskie started to notice differences, such as weight loss and issues with her memory. One day, she rang Muskie and told her she ‘can’t cope,’ so Muskie stepped in, gave her mother the money she needed, began visiting a couple of weekends, and would prepare meals for her mother.
Over the years, Muskie’s mother had numerous falls that required medical attention. Muskie adapted her mother’s home to help make it more accessible for her mother and so Muskie could still look out for her when she was not there. Muskie had her mother’s house fitted with a new bathroom with a walk-in shower, got her a microwave she could use independently, and set up cameras that would allow them to speak to one another. She also did research into treatments and devices that would improve her mother’s care. Muskie’s mother’s consultant advised her to get Power of Attorney. Muskie visited a solicitor, and her mother granted her Power of Attorney. They also made legal arrangements just in case Muskie became incapacitated.
Muskie describes how her mother went missing in a taxi during transfer from hospital to rehab.
Muskie describes how her mother went missing in a taxi during transfer from hospital to rehab.
And then she had… there was some… some really bad falls. She was… she went missing for 11 hours being transported from the [hospital name] back to the rehab, and they sent her half past midnight, something like that, by taxi on her own, which I was disgusted about, and at the time the papers were saying that elderly people were being sent home who were frail and shouldn’t have been on their own, and she shouldn’t have been, and I was ringing the hospital – they couldn’t find her. Anyway, I went down the rehab and she arrived, because they rang me, at least we’re on all the… ward sisters there, I had to put a formal complaint in about it, which I… so I was quite happy about, but she was absolutely ice-cold.
She had no… hadn’t had any medication, she was only in her nightie and one little blanket, no slippers, nothing, she needed more blankets around her, she needed food, she’d had nothing to eat, she’d had nothing to drink, and like I said she’d never had any… any of her medication, and that was something… and I was really absolutely appalled at. So we got the heating put on, got her warmed up, and trying to get some warm drink into her, and… and stuff.