Hi Kate, welcome to the forum.
Your Mum said she didn’t want care workers - but if you had been asked what would you have said?
A lot of elderly people say they don’t need/want carer workers and they either can manage or their relative can do it all. However, it can ease the pressure on the carer and the relationship between carer and caree. Just worth thinking about. Carers who have been in the position you are in now have come up with cunning ways to help their caree accept a care worker - which they can share with you if you decide to have some help.