Hello everyone and thanks for your advice. I thought I’d give you an update. I found a podiatrist using Chris’s helpful suggestion. He was a very nice chap who came and ‘did’ A’s feet. He said that he was fairly certain he doesn’t have a fungal infection, which was a relief, and that his toe nails probably look unhealthy because they are not getting sufficient nutrients due to venous insufficiency.
I bought some clippers as A said he wanted a number 6 all over. Having bought them then decided he liked his hair a bit longer and just wanted a tidy up. I didn’t feel confident cutting his hair with scissors but fortunately a friend and her son came over to visit and she said she used to cut her husband’s hair and would do it. She made a good job of it and her son bought the unused clippers from me for the price I paid - result! She said she would cut A’s hair every few weeks to keep it tidy.
He has swollen feet and ankles and a district nurse came on Wednesday to measure him for compression stockings. His feet and ankles weren’t too bad that day but now they’re worse and I’m worried they won’t fit. I don’t know if the GP has received the measurements and prescribed them yet but will go into the chemist tomorrow and see. I’m also worried about putting them on him as I’ve heard they’re very difficult to put on. Anyone know anything about this please? It would be good if the district nurse came back and showed me but I suspect that won’t happen.
The OT suggested several things including a grab rail in the bathroom (fitted and very useful), a bed lever (not now useful - see below), a lumbar support cushion for his chair (also useful) and a frame to go around the lavatory. This arrived but had to be screwed into the pan but couldn’t be made to fit our pan so had to be returned. She suggested a different one but he finds it difficult to use and the physio couldn’t find a way of it working for him either. The OT is coming again on Monday so we’ll see what she says.
He now says he cannot get into bed as it is too painful and so has slept in the armchair for the last few nights. When the physio came on Wednesday she showed him how to get into bed in a pain-free way but that night he still wouldn’t try it and has since refused point blank to try any more.
I’m worried that sleeping in the chair is not good for him and I know it has a number of health risks, which both I and the physio have explained to him but he is adamant he is never going to try and get into bed again. Consequently I’m looking at getting a riser/recliner chair with a foot rest - one where the chair goes pretty much completely flat so that he can sleep in that, as that would be fairly similar to being in bed I imagine. I’ve contacted a couple of companies about it, initially to check that they will bring it right up to the flat and that there are no issues with door widths etc. I also need to get rid of the double bed and replace it with a single for me to make space for the chair in the bedroom.
We’ve also got a stair lift company coming next week to see if fitting one is feasible. It’s complicated because the stairs are used by all the flats, not just us, so even if it is feasible we would need permission form the managing agent to have one installed. Also, even if it were installed, what is he going to do when he gets outside? He used to get in the car and I would drive him to wherever we were going and then he would get into a folding wheelchair I keep on the boot. Would he still be able to do that though? It would be quite a risk to spend thousands having a stair lift fitted only to find he can no longer get into the car. I think it’s a non-starter but in the first instance we’ll see if it’s even feasible.
@bowlingbun I’ve no idea what would happen in the event of a fire but what can I do about that? I and several others told him on many occasions over a number of years that the flat was not a place in which to grow old but he refused to move. We live in a really nice area and could have sold it for a good price and moved to a more suitable property somewhere such as a nice market town, perhaps nearer his or my family. It’s too late now though so we’re stuck where we are.
Sorry to have rambled on again but it’s good to ‘talk’ to people who understand.