I live in Cork City Centre in a former corporation housing estate of 6 houses. My next door neighbour Mary is 95 and is the most gentle and kind person. Her sister died in childbirth and she raised her son as if he was her own. He is now in his late 70s and has serious dementia at this stage.
She is the only person who looks after him and spends all day looking after him, but is now finding it very difficult to help him up the stairs, wash etc. He is also incontinent and she has to get up in the middle of the night to change the beds etc.
She has to pay a nurse to call every Saturday morning for half an hour and that is the extent of help from an health services, except for respite which had been more frequent but is now not due until the end of June again. My heart is broken after being in there again tonight as she has pleaded with me to find help for her. I cannot empasise how terrible the situtation is. For example, three weeks ago, two people called to her and pretended they were from the Health Board. She gave them somewhere between €1600 and €4000 cash to get help for her. She has not seen them since. For another example, On Saturday afternoon, she had to call me because he was stuck in the couch and neither she nor he could lift himself out of the seat and he needed to go to the bathroom.
She only has a non-contributory pension and he is the same I imagine. But surely the state has some obligation. She is a 95 year old woman pleading for help in looking after her nephew who has dementia. Where do I start? They have no real family, as all of her siblings are long dead (she was the youngest) and the same for him. And neither of them married. They do have a cousin's daughter who calls every so often.
I know that community nurse is based in Ballyphehane and that maybe I could call her? But does anyone know what the hell I can do? It is terribly sad.
She is the only person who looks after him and spends all day looking after him, but is now finding it very difficult to help him up the stairs, wash etc. He is also incontinent and she has to get up in the middle of the night to change the beds etc.
She has to pay a nurse to call every Saturday morning for half an hour and that is the extent of help from an health services, except for respite which had been more frequent but is now not due until the end of June again. My heart is broken after being in there again tonight as she has pleaded with me to find help for her. I cannot empasise how terrible the situtation is. For example, three weeks ago, two people called to her and pretended they were from the Health Board. She gave them somewhere between €1600 and €4000 cash to get help for her. She has not seen them since. For another example, On Saturday afternoon, she had to call me because he was stuck in the couch and neither she nor he could lift himself out of the seat and he needed to go to the bathroom.
She only has a non-contributory pension and he is the same I imagine. But surely the state has some obligation. She is a 95 year old woman pleading for help in looking after her nephew who has dementia. Where do I start? They have no real family, as all of her siblings are long dead (she was the youngest) and the same for him. And neither of them married. They do have a cousin's daughter who calls every so often.
I know that community nurse is based in Ballyphehane and that maybe I could call her? But does anyone know what the hell I can do? It is terribly sad.