occupational therapist

Minutes after the Warden's worrying news (see last post), I got a call from the Occupational Therapist who visited Mum this week. She had a long list of concerns which she wanted to get through before hearing mine (all I could think about was Mum walking on the bypass). Many of the concerns were about Mum's walking, which is very unsteady. She observed that Mum supports herself inside the flat by holding onto furniture and walls, launching herself across a room only when necessary, like when she needs to lurch into the Kitchen. The OT couldn't get Mum to consider a Zimmer frame, but is arranging a Physio consultation and is instituting a trolley for Mum to wheel her tray of food in from the Kitchen to the Living Room. We talked about ways of helping Mum with the bath, although given that the bath is being removed next month to be replaced by a walk-in shower, this would be a short-term fix. The OT pressed me to arrange a pendant alarm for Mum to wear, and expressed concern about her use of the electric hob (the one she has left hot before with items stacked on it).

Since the call, I've asked the Warden to turn the hob off at the wall (there wasn't a fuse to remove, unfortunately) and roll up the various rugs in Mum's apartment. I'm looking into various options with the pendant alarms. I've also got to make up a card for Mum to carry in her purse with my phone number on it, so that anyone who finds Mum wandering can call me.