What to do & who to contact??

CrazyRabbit

Hi all,

Six weeks ago my mum had a bleed in the brain...something very similar to a stroke as far as I can tell. The result is that she has about 80% strength in he left arm/leg, but very poor motor control, especially in her leg. Her balance is very poor also (gets dizzy and disorientated).

With the little physiotherapy she gets in the hospital she can now stand for a bit, but frequently falls over. So basically, she won't be walking unaided for the foreseeable future.

There are a few things which my family are really concerned about at the moment, and we really don't know how to tackle them...hence my post here in the hope that someone can advise.

My mum is very depressed. She's crying a lot, begging to get out of the hospital. She's convinced she'll never walk again, isn't eating well and missing a few of the physiotherapy sessions. The nurses are rather dismissive of this, and I haven't even seen a doctor once in 6 weeks of visiting. They seem determined to get her out of the hospital as quickly as possible. The social worker there has not been much help either. How do we go about getting my mum some help for this depression? Can the hospital organise it, or do we have to contact someone (it's St James Hospital in Dublin)?

Second issue is that my mums house has no downstairs toilet/wash facilities. She can't stay in the hospital forever. The only viable options seem to be a move to ground floor accommodation, or a stair lift. The social housing dept have said my mum is on the transfer list for almost 3 years, but the type of accommodation she needs is extremely rare and she could be waiting another 5-10 years!
Is it possible to apply for a grant to help with the cost of a stair lift? They seem very expensive...outside our current means. We'd need to replace the bath with a walk-in shower as well, but I could afford that myself.

There's a lot of information out there, but some of it is conflicting, and we can't get straight answers from anyone we speak to either. It's very frustrating. Any advice on what to do, what to read up on, or who to contact would be really appreciated.

Thanks

RainyDay

It is very disappointing that nurses are dismissive of mental health issues. While I understand that they want to get your mother out of hospital (and generally, this is the best thing for the patient), they should certainly be addressing mental health issues. Indeed, you might find it easier to get access to MH treatment while in hospital. Start having serious discussions with the nurse in charge of the ward about getting a formal assessment of your mother's mental health.

The social worker or public health nurse should be advising about what happens at home. There is a Housing Adaptation Grant for things like the stair lift you mention, though many councils have run out of funds for htis.

panda100

It sounds like your mum had a brain haemorrhage?

There are organisations out there that may be able to help. Acquired Brain Injury ireland and Headway both provide support for people after brain injuries. They have social workers which can help with your mothers housing situaution. They also provide counselling,psychological intervention and other supports that may help your mother too.

Also, depending on where you are in the country, you may have a stroke scheme which may offer supports as well.

http://www.headway.ie/
http://www.abiireland.ie/index.html
http://www.strokescheme.ie/

CrazyRabbit

Thanks for that. Really appreciate both replies.