When the going gets tough I often sing silly songs to Maureen by changing the words to lift her mood.  Very early this morning she was beside herself as she felt unable to build a boat.  No matter what I said I couldn’t shift her from her focus on feeling ‘useless’; until I swapped Maureen for Michael in this one:

Once I got the song underway her despondency changed to hysteria and it took a while before I was able to coax her back to sleep.

Today’s Carer commented that Maureen looks tired at the moment.  This isn’t surprising as she never made it to her upstairs bedroom while she was in Alderlea.  She refused point blank to get into their lift – I’m not surprised as it reminds me of something from the Dark Ages.

It is vital that Maureen gets good rest when she is in a Care Home.  Slumbering in an armchair or sleeping on a sofa is not recuperative when she spends a larger portion of the day on her feet.  It is difficult enough to get someone who fears being attacked to sleep in a downstairs room: persuading them to go upstairs is never going to be a viable option.