Caring for my mother as well as my son

My name is Anna and I care for my 69 year old mother. She has had four hip replacements, two knee replacements, suffers from severe arthritis in her shoulders neck and hands, this means she has trouble lifting, dressing and showering. I also care for my 24 year old son who has acute Asperger’s and ADHD.

Mum is very unsteady on her feet so for me I have to make sure I am thinking about the little things in the home environment like considering floorings, mats, that kind of thing.

A couple of years ago we moved into the same home to help me better care for her.  Now we are in the process of building her own house. We can make sure that everything is actually built well for her from the outset like hand rails, taps, flooring everything is all made for her, especially now that her hands are beginning to claw. We are even getting her the taps that you don’t need to turn but flip. This will help her to retain some of her independence going forward. It is also nice to know that even when you are 69 you can have fresh starts like this.