Day 2,038 (not) In The Nanny June Care Home

The One With A Diary Within A Diary: I am not senile.

I have kept some diaries back from the bungalow clearance. I went back over the entries from 2012 - which is (with the benefit of hindsight) when we started to see changes in Nanny June’s behaviour. And obviously so did she. Although she was still going to the gym aged 81.

This is just to really illustrate the creeping insidious nature of dementia and how sometimes we don't want to see what is right in front of us.

Our journey from 2012 onward was a total nightmare and we received such little support it was impossible to manage. So many people were involved in her care, but so few people made a difference.

I will always remember the two most amazing and surprising sources of support at this time were:

1) British Gas. I contacted them because I was freaking out at someone with dementia leaving the gas on and blowing up the bungalow, themselves and their neighbours. They were amazing. So understanding and supportive and treated me like a human with the weight of the world on my shoulders. Their sympathy and support was so unique it literally made me cry.

2) The Local Police. The officers that came out repeatedly to support Nanny June who would repeatedly report a burglary. They went above and beyond when they surely had other pressing things to deal with. There was never a burglary but Nanny June would be sitting in her armchair, surrounded by all her worldly belongings describing how everything had been taken and the house was stripped bare. She genuinely believed she had been burgled and had all the trauma associated with it happening. The local police were so good. Reassuring Nanny June, making her a cup of tea, calling me to let me know what had happened. The police headquarters were not so good and called me to threaten action with wasting police time.

So before we descended into that world, here's a transcript or two from a few years earlier 2012. I have removed all identifiers of names etc.

Thursday 3 May 2012

Voting Day.

Went out to vote only to find that I had voted by post but have no recollection of doing so. When I was offered a lift home by one of the helpers I refused saying I wanted to buy fish and chips on the way home but the lady kindly insisted that it would be no bother for her to take me to the chip shop and wait for me, I wondered if they thought I was going senile and gave me a lift to see how I would manage crossing the road and if I would remember where I lived, I managed both I hope it was enough to convince them that I am not senile.

Thursday 2 August 2012

Had a funny turn in town this morning and went into this morning and went for a cup of tea for about 1/2 hour. A friend phoned yesterday and argued about wether or not Elizabeth was here on Sat, I told her that Elizabeth was on holiday but she rang today to apologise, but she had been so rude that I don’t want to be bothered with her anymore. I had to go to the surgery as I was had a funny turn in Co-op they ordered a taxi and I was thoroughly examined, they said my heart was fine but my blood pressure was high and have to go back next Thursday.

Monday 6 August 2012

Wrote my diary up to date today, it was a bit about the what happened when, but so much happened in such a short time that i got the times mixed up.

Monday 26 November 2012

Went to gym. Telephone has gone bust so sorted out my old one, but I’m having a spot of bother with that one as well, it won’t connect when I dial a number on it, I must remember to ask someone to have a look at it for me.