We are just back from a week in the UK where we have been mainly staying with my mother. Over the last year or so. she has become increasingly frail and we are increasingly worried about how she will manage going forward.
Like many older people, she is fiercely independent and doesn't want to pay any attention to the increasing problems that she has been having. She continues to be unable to keep her kitchen clean and the house tidy, and we have done a full spring clean on this visit, in some cases doing the first deep clean that some places have had for possibly years.
Mum has a range of medical conditions, including pernicious anemia and a leaky heart valve that leave her short of breath after the lightest exertion. Getting up and down stairs is increasingly difficult and we had hoped to persuade her to move her bedroom downstairs, but she doesn't want to at the moment.
I have been reading up on such issues at various age-related websites and have been talking a lot with her neighbours, Ian and Nicola, who have been through similar experiences with their own parents.
But overall, I have little idea how to proceed and my constant thinking about this is making little progress.
Addendum - March 2017
Since the above February trip, I have had two more trips back to the UK. Firstly, I had to go back to sort out the damage done by the recent storm that brought down several trees in mum's garden.
But more seriously, we heard that mum had hurt her foot and following discussion with Iain, I returned to the UK to take her to hospital, where it was revealed that she had a small break. At least this meant she has accepted that she should sleep downstairs at least until the ankle heals.
On a brighter note, we believe that her tests for colon cancer had turned out to be negative.
We are next back in late April and I am hoping there are no more issues that require immediate attention.
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