thanks again for the welcome. i went on the asd uk forum for a while but found it was more geared towards mothers worrying about there children. i feel a lot more relaxed on here. just installed the firefox spell checker so i can write really looong words and sound intelligent.
I wrote this to introduce myself to the asd forum. .
i looked after mum for many years after she had a fall at work and with the arthritis in her knees mobility was difficult. I'd been at Staffordshire uni doing a politics degree, the studying was fine but it was the wrong environment for me, i developed depression quite badly and left in 1996 i was placed on lithium by the hospital psychiatrist. mum always sorted the outside world out making phone calls answering the door i have always found spontaneous conversations difficult especially with strangers, things worked out OK between and the two of us and we could cope.
mum was taking Codeine painkillers which are a opiate so she was quite happy most of the time, given hindsight i don't think lithuim helped with the depression it was being home and feeling secure that helped the most. familiar surroundings and routine with minimal contact with the outside world helped a lot i had no feelings of isolation or loneliness, the lithium went into the bin i was OK, and 10 years older.
In 2007 mum was unable to use the stairs so she stayed in the bedroom 90% of the time. one morning i took her breakfast up she woke up looked at me and said hello dad, i said mum its me Paul, your still half asleep sit up and eat your breakfast and i will get your pills. when i returned she asked where her mum was i told her not to be silly then i told her that her mum and dad had died long ago and she began to cry i felt terrible. mum always had a nap after breakfast. i took her some tea and woke her i asked her did she know who i was she said, of course your my Paul.
then the incontinence started i bought some pull up pad things from boots mum would put them in a plastic bag i would leave in the bathroom. it was still ok and we were still coping until the fall behind the bedroom door, their was no chance of pushing the door open alone i had no way of knowing if she was injured or not
i hate talking on telephones and it was really scary dialing 999 but it had to be done. mum was alright just a carpet burn on the knee, the nurse took me aside and said that she had to inform mums social worker about the fall i told her we had never had one she said how do we manage on our own.
mum was diagnosed with alzheimer's and came home. social services sent trisha round to bathe mum 5 times a week and placed handrails to help get mum to the bathroom. she got 2 weeks in a respite home too help regain some mobility the staff said mum was hard work as they had to lift her all the time which really annoyed me like i didn't know, it was a 12 hour day 7 days a week job'.
mum became double incontinent and immobile the alzheimers had destroyed her brain, a social worker suggested that she should go into a rest home i reluctantly said yes. i could smell the urine long before i entered the home. it was a large Victorian house with a huge extension at the back it didn't feel right to me for some reason and i got mum moved. the second place was a purpose built care home and it was packed its sole purpose i believe was to make as much money as possible. so i asked for another move this time the manager of the care home wanted to talk to me before she accepted mum i felt annoyed thinking we were being vetted but the manager Debbie just wanted to show me around and get to know about mum and me.
so mum moved in there it was more of a home, than a care home really, mum was happy she enjoyed the food and all the attention from the staff it was 2009
my depression returned I was put on Prozac until could see a psychiatrist who could prescribe lithium i have never dealt with the outside world to much and I'm unable to use a phone, I'd never had a bank account i was totally lost.
i had my carers allowance money in the post office which i never spent so i just locked myself away for 2 years in 2011, the doctor referred to a psychiatrist who then referred me to a clinical psychologist and i got the results this February.
mum died on march 30th two weeks short of her 77th birthday. I needed help to arrange the funeral phone calls needed to be sorted for the insurance etc. i had not been allocated a social worker and not having a learning disability or being mentally ill their was a lot of confusion as to where i should be placed, finally deemed a vulnerable adult they made the calls. i found out a few weeks later that they have autism team and they now provide me with the help i need.