Mum

I've just been chatting to my brother on the phone. We're both a bit concerned about my mother who is 80 and increasingly incapacitated by myositis (specifically inclusion body myositis), vertigo and depression. When I spoke to her on Friday she was complaining of a sore back, which has not been a feature of the myositis to date, and a doctor she is not keen on - her own being on holiday - had prescribed steroids, a hugely bad idea as she was put on these soon after she was first diagnosed with myositis, and they caused her face to puff up and made her depressed! She was also talking about her anxieties about how long she'll be able to stay in her flat. Actually, this won't be a problem, as the flat is wheelchair accessible and helpers and carers of all kinds can be engaged to come and help with personal care. She already has L who comes once or twice a week and shops and does little jobs and errands. My mother complains that she is bossy and irritating, but nonetheless depends on her, and when I was last there and L was away on holiday, she must have mentioned this fact fifteen times, as well as expressing anxiety that L might not return the following Monday as planned. Anyway it is hard to decipher what is an actual physical problem and what is the depression speaking, but the back pain is different from her usual general complaint that she is 'deteriorating', and she says she's finding it difficult to take a shower. I think she needs to get the GP to refer her for another OT assessment and maybe they will provide a shower chair, as previously they provided special 'elephant's' feet for the sofa to make it higher, and a raised toilet seat, though if they don't I'm sure we can get her one... Mostly the myositis has made walking hard work for her, though she manages with a stick and a wheeled walker, and her hands have become weak and awkward, her fingers not at all good at small movements like doing up buttons, putting on earrings or wielding a bread knife. L (that's my L) and I are going to visit her soon, and will be able to see how she is then. My brother is going a week or so later and then we'll be able to compare notes and think about whether any practical action is needed.