seething!

I had a meeting with a representative of the Office of the Public Guardian at mum's care home last week to make sure I was doing a good job of discharging my duties as deputy for her financial affairs and property. It was a positive meeting but I was dismayed to discover that I could have been claiming Attendance Allowance for mum for years, even after she went into the care home. Her GP did suggest it some years ago but at the time mum said she didn't want to bother and in my ignorance I confused it with carer's allowance and thought no more about it, especially when I was no longer involved in her day to day care. Now I find that she is entitled to the higher allowance of £73.60 a week which means that since going into the care home, she could have had £5667.20 towards the fees!!!!! I am so annoyed, why doesn't anyone tell you these things, ie the care staff when mum first became a resident or the Office of the Public Guardian when I was granted the deputyship order? And the most annoying thing of all is I can't get it back dated so that's money lost/gifted to the government. Grrrrr. I have made a start applying for AA online but have to get some info from the care home tomorrow to complete it. Wish me luck!

more worries

Now I'm worried about my son. He's had a rotten couple of years - crazy ex, lost his job, new (now also ex) girlfriend with lots of her own problems - and now he's totally consumed with anxiety about the situation in Libya and Japan. He stays up all night on the internet publishing and responding to videos on Youtube, sleeps till early afternoon, thinks the world is doomed and too awful a place to bring children into. He's always been a sensitive soul at the best of times and I'm scared he's going to crack up completely. I've talked to him about it but he doesn't think he's ill. Maybe I'm just overreacting, perhaps he's just doing what anyone with a strong social conscience and no other distractions would do. Anyone out there had the same experience, themselves or with someone else? Any advice?