seizures and booze don't mix...

We had a family wedding last weekend it was a great day and all went well till we got home.
Coo had some alcohol, he doesn't usually drink any as it affects his epilepsy but at the wedding he had a few beers and boy are we suffering!

We got to sleep at 1 a.m. but we didn't sleep for long as Coo's seizures were coming around every 15 minutes by 5 a.m. he'd had 15 seizures and we were both shattered.

All today his moods have been erratic and to be honest my patience is wearing pretty thin.
Looby's arrived to keep an eye on things so I'm going to sleep for a bit and hopefully when I wake I'll be feeling more positive.

maz x

Tai Chi for Carers...

Hi, I'm eternally greatful to our local Carers Centre, who ran a Tai Chi course last year as it's honestly the best de-stressing pastime I've ever found!

Today has been pretty stressful!
Coo's not too well today, there's been lots of seizures and I've started to feel the tiredness coming on.
I've popped on my panpipe music, summond up enough energy for a 10 minute burst of Tai Chi and now I'm feeling great!

I wouldn't have believed it would work this way but it does honestly balance you all out again...really!
I tend to use it when I'm tired and there's no way I can take timeout for a sleep or when I'm stressed and things are getting a bit too much.

Tai Chi chills me out a bit and makes things seem a whole lot brighter!

Try it out yourself, it sure keeps me sane at times!

maz x

Carers' Week is over...

With Carers' Week all over for another year, it's time for looking back over things.
Last year, Coo was a bit better than now, but I didn't have much in the way of help & support.
This time he's not so well but we've made the change to get in some 'Care Services' to help us at home.

Our Direct Payment let's us employ Looby (our daughter) flexibly for 28 hours a week and this has made things a whole lot easier.
Things like, if I couldn't find my phone I couldn't go out, as I needed to be continually calling home checking on Coo.
I also had my parents on standby to go help in a hurry if I called them up!

This new way is better for everyone, I can plan when I want to do things and know it will happen rather than be disappointed at the last minute as Coo isn't well enough to leave.
I've been able to go to the Carers Week events with a clear concience which is a new experience, days out with no guilt!
Looby's able to fit around the hours we need her and best of all, I now know when I will have a full nights sleep, previously I just kinda drifted in hope that at some point I'd get some rest.

Looking back I don't know how I managed but having had some regular sleep a few nights a week, I know I was starting to get burn out!
Things are more calmer at home, not that it was bedlam before! but I find myself smiling more and little things don't seem to bother me so much.

For Carers, lack of sleep is more of a problem than I realised, it's just, when you're in a care crisis with not much sleep for a long time, it kinda becomes normal and it's only when the cycle is broken you realise how bad it really was!
I hope anyone considering using Direct Payment finds my experiences helpful!

maz x

Sunshiney Day...

Well, the sun's shinning today for Fathers Day!

My usual Sunday routine is going to church with my parents, my mum has gone away on retreat to Lourdes, France so it was just Dad and I today.

It was nice to spend some time just talking and having a cuppa afterwards!

My Mum's home on Wednesday so it'll be all gossip and chat about France!

It was a nice surprise to have sunshiney weather today as over the last few days it's been dull, overcast, rainy and COLD!
What a month June is turning into this year!

I'm glad it's nice today things don't seem so bad, sunshine's still free and makes everyone want to smile more, well it sure works for me!

I hope the sun stays awhile, well a few more days anyway!

maz x

Carers Allowance and bills....

Carer's Allowance sure doesn't go far, it certainly never lasts a full week, well not for me anyway!

I mean, what can you buy for £48.65...not much!

This week, the money seems to have bounced into my bank account and straight back out again in bills.
I hate when they all come in at once, the phone bill is high as it covers Coo's recent hospital stay, the call rates are soooo high you wouldn't believe!

I'm glad Carer's week was so enjoyable as I don't think I'll be doing much else until our funds even out again!

I guess that trip to the Bahamas' is off yet again, at this rate I'd be pushing it aiming for a trip to Blackpool!!

A well all good things come to an end and it sure was fun while it lasted!

maz x

Carer's on the move...

Hi, as part of the Carer's Week celebration our group went on a fun walk.
There were 15 of us and the walk was around a private estate along both a beach and woodland area, very pretty but also pretty muddy at points!

I was worried as the walk was going to last for around an hour and the furthest I've walked in months is from the carpark to the shops and back!
I needn't have worried with all the chat and laughing that comes along with fresh air and 15 women, the time passed really quickly and I didn't notice I'd been walking so long!

We finished up at a large 'Garden Centre' for tea, sandwiches and scones, and on the way home...well, I treated myself to a mint choc chip ice-cream, something I hadn't had in years.

What a pleasant day!

Looby was home with Coo, so I really had a hassle free day for once!

maz x

Laughter is the best medicine...

This week is Carers Week and there's lots of activities on offer here!
Normally I don't have the chance to get involved but with Looby to P.A. for us, this year will be different!

Today, well, I've had a massage in the morning, learned how to make some tast sandwich fillings and had them for lunch!

In the afternoon?

It's a....A laughter workshop!

In the end it was a lotta fun, but at the beginning, when a lady turned up dressed as a clown with a box of dress-up wigs under her arm I wasn't too sure!
Within 15 minutes we were singing, dancing and clapping all with silly wigs on top to boot!
We must have looked a sight!

I needed a laugh, it's been a pretty tough week, the weather's been hot here and both Coo and me are real sleepy, not a good thing when you have sleep seizures!

Incidently Coo got back from the dreaded Stag night ok, he had a little alcohol and seemed fine!

So I was all in a tizzy for nothing!

maz x