Hi, thank you!
I am 45, my mum is 78. Yes, I am next of kin and have Power of Attorney for her.
No, I haven’t filled in the forms for Attendance Allowance yet. I do know about it, but I haven’t been able to face the form filling yet. Maybe after respite… And as we live with her, (me and my husband) wouldn’t we still have to pay Council Tax anyway?
No, my mum doesn’t pay me, but she does pay for the food shopping, all the household bills etc.
She has a carer for an hour and a half Monday to Friday. It’s a really tricky balance (probably my autism) to not feel invaded by lots of people negating the benefits of having less to do, if that makes sense? But I am looking at more regular visits for a day or two a week, to allow me to go out and do things… but because of the faecal incontinence I don’t know how she would cope with that if she had an accident between visits. Honestly, I would love her to go into residential care, but it’s not what she wants. I genuinely think it offers so much more for her though, compared to being stuck at home just with me and the TV all the time.
She has savings that mean she wouldn’t be eligible for any financial help, and she owns the house. Obviously we don’t know how much longer she has left, but having to sell the house would be heartbreaking too. I also don’t want people (my brothers) to think I’ve manipulated anything just to get the house to myself, like some reverse cuckoo situation!!