the mum chronicles

Things have taken an odd turn. I'd got used to the deteriorating short term memory that's resulted in a few 'lost x - someone's stolen x - found x where I put it' moments recently (the latest was a £10 bag of loose change that turned up in my purse, where she'd emptied it, thinking it was her purse). That sort of thing I can cope with and we can laugh about it later.

Wednesday this week saw a new and worrying version. Our telephone rang at 10pm. I didn't get to it before the answerphone clicked in but after the message I said 'hello' a few times. All I could hear was heavy breathing. I dialled 1471 and sure enough, it was mum's number. I rang straight back twice, letting the phone ring for a quite a while. Nothing. Fearing another stroke, I drove over to mum's, arriving about 10.30. She was tucked up in bed and surprised to see me - "I've just been thinking about you" she said! Long story short, she then went into a rant about my arranging an appointment for her to go for her vitamin B12 injection next week. (She has pernicious anaemia and has been having a jab every 3 months for years.) She said she felt like she had no control over her own life and why should I be making appointments for her, it should be the doctor, she wanted it cancelling and didn't seem to remember she had been having the treatment for ages. (She also said she hadn't spoken on the phone because "he answered" - the answerphone message was recorded by my husband!)

I phoned her doctor on Thursday for advice. She was very understanding. She reassured me that missing one B12 wouldn't matter and ok'd cancelling the appointment. She promised to send mum a letter inviting her in for a review of her medication and said she wouldn't mention that I had phoned her - I don't want to add to mum's paranoia by 'going behind her back'! Phew. Interesting times ahead?