Angels in disguise...

Day 29

Sophie and I had been up all night and at 8am I called Northamptonshire Carers who were able to provide sitters for today, from 9am until 8pm, tonight from 8pm until 8am and then tomorrow until 4pm. This meant that we could go home and catch up on some sleep and also try and get the respite care for my Dad in place.

Why I thought I could go home and sleep I'll never know... every time I nodded off the phone would ring and I'd have to deal with nurses, carers, social services and the local GP. To cut a very long and horrible story short, we managed to arrange respite care for my Dad at a home in Kingsthorpe from tomorrow. This would be for two weeks and hopefully by then, my Mum would be out and feeling better and things could carry on as before, but with care in place for my Mum as well.

Today was like a strange and unsettling dream. Both Sophie and I were shattered and the beautiful weather outside seemed to be like a mockery of the situation we were in. I lost my appetite which is highly unusual - I was so worried about my parents and what the future would hold for them.

Mum called several times today and was on the same ward as Mike last year at Northampton General Hospital. It's lovely and modern but she called to say she was coming home and was going to discharge herself. Sophie managed to persuade her to stay in and I think the nurses agreed. They think she may have had a mini stroke, but that hasn't been confirmed.

The carers from Northamptonshire Carers were fantastic, especially the woman who came today to look after Dad. We popped back at about 5pm to bring him something to eat and my Dad seemed very with it and clued up about things which was a relief. He was also very cheerful but understood what was going on and the fact that he needed to go into a home tomorrow as I wasn't able to look after him 24 hours a day, which is what he needs.

We returned again at 8pm to see the night carer and I can't stress enough how relieved I was to have him sitting with my Dad all night. The thought of another sleepless night was unbearable.

We went home and I tried to relax before bed, but I fear I didn't have much luck!