Monday 10 August 2015

Getting mum's shoes issue sorted

The health issue is still being sorted, and I went with mum today to the radiologist's for an ultrasound. There's no deep-vein thrombosis, which was something the doctor suspected, causing the water retention in mum's legs. The images will be delivered direct to the doctor's tomorrow and hopefully we can find out what the problem is during this week.

As to the shoes issue, I happened to bump into the physiotherapist who looks after residents in the nursing home today and she told me to get in touch with a particular shoe retailer called Comfort & Fit. I spoke with someone at their Parramatta office and so consequently they will make the trip out to mum's nursing home on Thursday so that we can fit something suitable for mum's feet.

The swollen feet issue is bigger than it would at first seem. It's particularly disturbing aesthetically, for a start, because it really looks now like mum has something materially wrong with her. Beforehand the blood disease and the dementia were present but there was no specific outward indication of their presence. When you have horribly swollen feet, on the other hand, there's no mistaking the conclusion that something is seriously wrong with someone health-wise.

This feeling of awkwardness came home to me when I was with the equipment operator and mum in the consulting room at the radiologist's today. Mum had to take off her pants and right sock. We also had to remove the dressing from her right leg that has been helping to collect the moisture coming out of it. Removing the bandages was bad enough because the sticky tape hurt mum when it was pulled off, even though I removed it quite slowly. But the sight of mum's red, puffy feet affecting the legs all the way up the calves is something you really don't need to be exposed to too often. I felt particular sympathy therefore for the staff at the nursing home who must treat this kind of condition on a daily basis, in very close proximity.

No comments: