Caring for someone with a terminal illness

The other thing I didn’t do straight away I think was I was offered two hours respite by the palliative care team and that was marvellous [laughs] because Mum had another face, which is important. We had sort of carers coming in to help with her personal care but they that was very brief, these were people we didn’t know terribly well. Very nice people, very willing and helpful but they tended to come in, do what they had to and leave. So I couldn’t sort of guarantee they’d be with Mum an hour so I couldn’t pop out to the shops or anything. So I didn’t find that part of it terrifically useful, particularly, as it didn’t, well, it couldn’t possibly fit in with what when mum wanted to get up and when mum wanted to go to bed. You couldn’t fix a time for those sorts of things so it was that that I didn’t find that as useful but the two hours respite during the day, that was a time I could have where I could go and get things organised and I didn’t have my focus on Mum. So and that was that was really, really very useful. So in the end I got one of the carers to come in and do what someone that had been looking helping mum with her personal care for a very long time, I got her to come in and do lunch for her and spend two hours with her and I put it back to back with the respite. So I could go out for a whole four hours a week [laughs].

Which was very useful, yeah. And I wish I’d actually, organised that sooner.

Can you tell me how you found that, having that care, that respite care? How was it for you?

Well, it was essential really [laughs]. I didn’t think it would be, you know. I thought it would be a nice break for Mum but as it turned out, it was a very good break for me. I mean I could go off and have a nap if I wanted or sit, you know, by the sea or, you know, have some time, you know, shopping, you know, where I had a bit more time, rather than, you know, hit and run [laughs].

Yes.

Sort of shopping I could actually, you know, plan things a bit better, you know. So it gave me it gave me a good, good break and it was in the middle of the day. In the middle of the day seemed to be better for us because I think we had, I felt we had sort of getting up and going to bed sort of fairly well organised. But in the middle of the day that was when I felt quite tired because I hadn’t had sleep and Mum would either be asleep or, or I’d be making her meals or that sort of thing.
 

We managed to go away for a weekend but actually, I found it incredibly difficult because one of Sarah’s sisters came to look after everything over that weekend and she was, she did a fantastic job but she they did phone me a couple of times and just as you’re starting to kind of relax I’d get a phone call and it’d be, “[huh] What’s happened?” So it was incredibly difficult to switch off, even though we were away. I was constantly thinking, “Is she all right?” It was still very, it was just before they managed to get the pain sorted as well so yeah, I just knew I kind of knew what was going on at home. I knew what it was like at home and I knew what would be going on here and how stressed my sister-in-law would be in my role and yeah, it’s difficult to it’s difficult to really take a break from it. 

So how do you feel when Bill goes to the hospice?

Well, he’s been, well he’s been twice to the unit for respite and he’s been once on a holiday with them. They actually take ten or twelve patients to Centreparks so he’s, had that. The first time when I came back I felt terrible, I felt, this is the rest of my life, here’s this empty house and it felt awful. And I suppose that’s what I got, have to get used to really. I mean as the disease progresses you get used to doing things on your own that you would do as a couple, go to a wedding, go to somebody’s party, all of those things. It’s not easy, but, you sort of do it for both of you but, you know, you know that this is your future life. So there’s sort of that, and then you know that because he’s in a different setting physically the logistics of doing everything, the loos, the showers that are different from at home and you hope that he’s not losing, dropping down a level by things being different or easier. I mean for example we have stairs at home until we had stair lifts and it was important that he got some, he kept up his stair [laughs] going up and down a little bit when he was in the hospice and stuff. And so there’s just that element to it as well.
 

Are you the only the only daughter?

Yes.

The only child. Yes, so did you feel on occasions a weight with the responsibility that you took on for caring?

Every now and again sort of frustration. It’s a horrible thing to admit but you do because sometimes you just want to whiz off and do your own thing and sometimes that wasn’t always possible. But I felt guilty when I had to start putting her into respite care to have a holiday. I thought, you know, I didn’t really like doing it and people were saying, “Well, you should do it every other, you can do it every other month.” And I thought, “I don’t want to do it every other month. I’ll do it now and again, maybe a couple of times a year.” “Well, why don’t you just do it.” “Well, I haven’t got anything to do that that month.” “Well, do it anyway.” “Why? I’ll only come and visit her every day. What would be the point?” Unless I had a holiday to go on, friends to visit, there was no point for me. I would do it when I had to. They were wonderful there and there was my, my original [laughs] my original ethos in this was that I would find a place where she was happy with respite and, eventually, when I could no longer cope with dementia maybe that would be the place where she could go as a care home because she would already know it and I would already know them. So there was logic behind this as well. As it happened, she only went in about three or four times in the two years preceding her diagnosis. And, and the first time I phoned every single day and felt dreadful about having gone and I only went on a long weekend to Scotland and I didn’t leave her in the whole week. I took her in the day before I went to Scotland and picked her up the day I got back [laughs]. So but I thought, no, no, you know, I’ve got to trust these people and a week’s a week. So it wasn’t easy. It wasn’t easy at all.

No.

But she did enjoy it there. She did get used to it. She’d complain about the some of the people, some of the people she’d like. She’d always complain about the food but that was already the start of something else we didn’t know about. She might have complained about some of the food anyway but [laughs] ‘cause it’s not, you know, it is very difficult, very difficult but, yeah, it was tough, tough saying, “I’m going to leave you in this place and go off and have fun somewhere.”
 

What I am getting is I started getting this since November only, you know. Four hours a week from an organisation. Can I?

Yeah.

Can I, Crossroads. So and I can manage the four hours, whether I want it in one go or whether I want it split or whatever. So they’ve been helping me and then that’s how then I go out, do my bits and pieces, my shopping, my, you know, my appointments, my banking whatever. Obviously, it’s a struggle. It’s not enough. And then again last week, my social worker then agreed and they’ve given me an extra five hours a week now. So I’ve got nine hours a week, which I haven’t started using them yet because it was only on Friday that I found out they’re going to help me out there.

It’s very hard otherwise, you know. You just day in day out. It’s just the monotony of the, the tasks. Sometimes I do it happily and other times I do get angry and, and I sometimes think that he’s playing up, you know, deliberately but I know he’s not and he can’t help it but that’s how I feel sometimes [laughs]. So it is hard. I think it’s nice if you have somebody to share. You know, even the little daily routine of suctioning like, you know. Sometimes he needs suctioning every half an hour, sometimes it’s every ten minutes, sometimes it’s for a couple of hours there’s nothing. So yes, you can relax but you can’t really relax because you don’t know when that person’s going to go off, when he’s going to call you. So you, you have to be on your toes all the time really.

Do you take any time out for yourself to do just for you as opposed to your jobs list?

If there is any time then I do things like going and meet with friends or just, sometimes I might just go upstairs, you know, even if they’re here, I’ll just go upstairs maybe have a sleep or do my things. But there’s not much time for that. Maybe now with the nine hours, yes, there’ll be more. Oh, yeah, recently I did a [tut] I did a French polishing course so [laughs] so I managed to get on to that and that was organised by the Carers Association. So previously, I haven’t been able to go any of these courses or anything. From time to time they organise things like days out or, you know, for the carers so I was able to do that and they were telling me that they do a relaxation sessions once a fortnight or something. So I’m hoping I’ll be able to do that now with the extra time, yeah.