Happy Christmas!

[Regencyteacher]

To all of you, I hope you have a great Christmas and wish you a very happy 2015.

Thanks for all the advice and support you have given me during the difficult time since my father'a fall- it has been much appreciated.

Just to let you know, he has recently been discharged from hospital which is the best Christmas present ever!

He has short term memory problems and still struggles to find names and words for things, but everyday he is making small gains still and can now have a joke. He's much more positive about the future.

The doctors did say he would need ongoing support and he has some outpatient appointments but not much support apart from that.

Any advice on getting help at home? Or on how to help give support without making them feel we are intruding?

Anyway, I wanted to thank you all for the invaluable advice and your kind words over the last few months.

Wishing you all a peaceful and happy christmas.

[StrawberryCream]

That's lovely news especially as you say - an excellent Christmas present. Hope you all enjoy this Christmas but be aware that you dad will need a peaceful time and with an understanding that he should have frequent rests throughout the day. He may want to be involved throughout but it won't be as the day progresses that the accumulative effect of the demands of particularly Xmas day will overwhelm him. Then for many of us with Brain Injury the exhaustion and everything overwhelms which then can take days to recover from. It may be best that visits to your parents from family are short 'pop ins' or if they are coming to you or other family that they come for just a short time if possible say just for Xmas dinner.

I am wondering if the hospital arranged an Occupation Therapy assessment before your father was discharge. An OT assessment looks at his ability to manage in his own home and whether he needs any aids to help with the activities of daily living such as shower stool, bath rails, raised chair etc etc. if this didn't happen then ask his GP surgery to request one. Also it sounds like a Social Care assessment would be helpful. Do not feel anxious about this because the SW would not be wanting to put your dad in a home but would be looking at what could support him being looked after at home. That could be things like a home help or arranging him to attend a day centre (this would give the family a break as well as be good for your dad to have time out of the house and socialise with others etc. have you also checked to see if there is a Headway Day Centre near your fathers home because that can be an excellent support as the BI understanding is excellent along with the support, activity, info, etc. sadly though headway centres are not always close enough to everyone.

Wishing you a Happy Christmas and best wishes for 2015. Remember recovery is very gradual and can take a years rather than months before your father reaches his full recovery potential.

Best wishes x

[Regencyteacher in reply to StrawberryCream]

Great advice - thank you and I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

[Nutkin33]

Thanks so much. I hope you guys also have a wonderful day! Xx