It's been a while since the last post but everything went very quiet on the move over christmas. However gom's condition has been going down hill.
Because we were at home over christmas we were able to have one gym session on the thursday, but the stairs are becoming a real struggle and the gym sessions are only now making a marginal difference.
Nikky from the rehab team came on 4th Jan for his 6 monthly assessment, and she basically told him much the same thing that I've been trying to tell him since .... Oh I don't know when :(
She told him off for not using the walker - said he was asking for trouble by not using it - the way he was relying on the walls and furniture etc was guaranteed to lead to a fall. She showed him how to get up once he'd gone down and YES exactly the way that I'd been showing him, but all I ever got back was a load of gab. She also showed him how to support himself when he transferred from seats etc to standing and back again. Although he managed it for a while he soon began to slip back into his old ways :(.
She also suggested he could cut down on the amount that he does at the gym etc, so this week we tried half hour sessions instead of hour long. On Tuesday he did upper body and core but he was significantly worse, on the day after, than when he does the full hour because then he always does legs as well. Then although he's weaker for the first 24hours, he does get stronger on the day after, but not this time. He did lower body and core on thursday, and he was significantl better today for having done some leg exercise sessions. So what we're going to try tomorrow, with the pt who comes to the flat, is a half massage (his shoulders get very tight because he uses them to move his legs) and some lower body exercises with weights
Still by far the biggest problem however at the moment is trying to get him to allow himself time to get to the toilet and to ask me for help if he's got a problem. We now keep the glide-about commode in the lounge, but he still insists on struggling to get up and go to the bathroom when he'll inevatably fall and then still not get there in time. But he will never tell me if he gets' caught short' and will usually sit around in wet pants and trousers unless I keep checking (usually my nose will tell me anyway). I'm very tempted to get the special pants or pads, but I know I'll have a fight getting him to wear them, but I getting fed up with having to wash his trousers nearly every other day :(
All I usually get when I tell him that he must ask for help is 'Oh you were busy and I didn't want to interupt' AAGGHH.. I only busy 'cause I'm NOT going to sit around doing nothing, watching and waiting incase he needs my help - it's not my way and never has been.
The other rather 'sweet' (if it wasn't so annoying) thing he'll hint at is that he doesn't want to be 'burdon'. He wants to do what he can while he can and leave me to have some 'freedom' while I can. But I can't get through to him that, that's what I WANT to do, to help him as much as possible, he shouldn't HAVE to struggle. He has always considered other people over and above himself, so I shouldn't really be surprised by this attitude, but I just want him to for once, FORGET about me and think about himself. I just wish he could break the habit of a lifetime and be a little bit SELFISH instead of SELFLESS.
Oh well only time will tell
