Caring for someone with decreased mobility

This topic contains 1 reply, has 2 voices, and was last updated by  tmcintyre 3 years, 2 months ago.

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  • #141735

    david-b
    Participant

    Hi all,

    I’ve been browsing all the useful info on this site in the last few months since my Mum (70) was diagnosed in August last year, but have only just signed up on the forum. She lives with my Dad (71) in the London/Essex area, while my sister and I live too far away to visit regularly (and wouldn’t be able to anyway given the current Covid situation).

    Since her myeloma diagnosis my mum has gone through 2 courses of chemo. She was in hospital for a month in between these courses with an infection caused by an allergic reaction to one of the drugs she was taking, but recovered after going through a scary few weeks. Since then she started chemo again and had appeared to be managing okay.

    However, in the last few days her mobility has reduced dramatically, and my dad has been calling in distress, saying he’s unable to cope on his own. She has a carer come twice a day, but she’s now unable to get to the bathroom (or commode), even with my dad’s assistance (he’s already hurt his back trying to carry her, which he shouldn’t be doing at his age). She has a blood test booked later this week, but an appointment with consultant for next week was cancelled (presumably for Covid reasons).

    At this point we’re not sure if her decreased mobility is due to the myeloma itself, or perhaps a side effect of the medication such as peripheral neuropathy. We’re obviously hoping it isn’t permanent, but it would be great to hear if anyone has any tips for dealing with decreased mobility, or what channels we could go down to get my dad some help.

    Thanks for reading and take care,

    David

    #141887

    tmcintyre
    Participant

    Hello David

    I’m sorry to hear about your mum’s poor mobility. The Myeloma journey has many ups and downs.

    Are you able to increase the number of carers visits – my mum had four a day for a while. Possibly the district nurse could visit to give some practical advice or your parents could get in touch with the continence service. Your mum should have details of a clinical nurse specialist as part of her “team” who could help.

    There should be lots of help out there, it’s just finding the info that takes a bit of leg work.

    Wishing you and your family all the best

    Teresa

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