Victory?

A brief update on the last blog.

Today was judgement day. The meeting that would decide whether or not we'd get her home, or at least that's what we thought. Going in it appeared that everything had been decided already. Though Graeme still tried to push his luck as far as carers were concerned.

My mum had agreed before hand to have carers in, for a limited time and only in the mornings. This translated to him as "Fiona, you've agreed to carers in the mornings and maybe in the evening...? -- We can talk about that." -- Nothing to talk about, mate.

The meeting was held within the carehome where my Granny has been for the past eight weeks. When we walked in, she was walking down the corridor, holding the hand of another dementia patient. She seemed to have a vague recognition of my mum and stopped for her.

When my mum asked her who I was, there was nothing.

Now, she hasn't known my name for a while now. That's fine. I'm used to that, but she's always known that I'm somebody, at least, if not her grandson. But looking into her eyes, there was nothing. Not even a spark of recognition.

So, let's recap...

Eight weeks ago, we were asked if we'd put her into this place for assessment. For two weeks. I said no. My mum, reluctantly agreed. Afterall, it was only for two weeks. Before all this, we'd been asked if we'd have carers in, we said no. Eight weeks later, we're told we can't have her back if we don't agree to carers. The assessment? Nothing's changed. Same drugs. Dietition said she's fine, district nurse said she's fine - they've both always said that.

So why, and I really want to know this, did they insist on taking a dementia patient out of her environment, dumping her in a carehome for two months, causing her to plummet downhill in terms of her mental health? Was it in order to blackmail the family into putting the carers they don't want into their home? I can think of no other reason. Unless they really just wanted to make a 23 year old guy cry - cause they succeeded on that one too.

Blackmail

Blackmail
V. Exert pressure on someone through threats
E.g. 'You can't have her back until you agree to have carers.'

The story starts like this, social work called asking for my mum to agree to put my granny into a place in Buckie for assessment.

My mum discussed it with me and the rest of the family, I said I didn't think it was a good idea and didn't want her to go. It was only for two weeks, but she has dementia. They say you shouldn't take a dementia patient out of the routine they're in and they're used to. Taking her out of her home, and routine for two whole weeks? Seemed stupid.

Social work called again, and listening to him on the phone while he talked to my mum, I could tell he wasn't going to take no for an answer. She eventually said yes.

When she came off the phone, I told her I wasn't happy about it and even less happy at the fact she'd been pressured into saying yes. She came back with, "It's fine. I've got a while yet, if things change, I'll just call him back and say I've changed my mind."

The "while" she was talking about turned out to only be a couple of hours. This was Friday, by late Friday afternoon, she was booked in. By Monday, she was gone.

Two weeks came and went. There was to be a meeting held on the Tuesday, the day I was due to fly out to Florida, and because the meeting was on Tuesday, it meant that she wouldn't get out until late Tuesday, possibly Wednesday. That worked out quite well, because it meant that my mum could take me down to Glasgow without having to worry about my Granny getting home or anything. But still, it was over the two weeks we'd agreed to.

Thank You, John logie Baird

What I'm watching this season:
New Shows

• Detroit 1-8-7
• I've not actually finished the first episode of this year, but what I saw was interesting and I think it could be something I'd get in to. It's probably not much different from other 'cop dramas' out there, perhaps even not as good as many. What I did see reminded me, kinda, of ER - Cept, y'know, police, not doctors.

• Mike & Molly
• New comedy about 2 overweight people -- Mike & Molly. They meet and start dating. There's not a lot more to it really. It's... Nice and an easy watch. I don't think it's going to last that long, but I'll keep watching it until it goes.

• My Generation
• The premise is that the show is a documentary, following a group of people 10 years after they first followed them, in High School. To see where they've ended up in life, if things worked out as they expected them to, etc. As far as I can tell, nothing's worked out as their high school selves thought it would. I've watched a couple episodes of this now and I'm still not sure. It's really slow paced, but it's still got me interested in watching more.

• No Ordinary Family
• A live action Incredibles. I've only seen the first episode so far, which was entirely set up. Sorting out the powers, how they got them, how they used them an' all that stuff. It'll be interesting to see where they go with it all, but again, I'm not sure how long it'll last.

• Running Wilde
• This one was a surprise. I didn't really expect to like it at all, but both the episodes that have aired so far have gotten me to "LOL". I don't know how long the premise of this one could be stretched out, but so long as that doesn't become old and the writing holds up, I think it'll go for a while.

• The Defenders
• Another one I wasn't sure about before going in. Jerry O'Connell & Jim Belushi are a pair of Las Vegas defense attorneys. It's a pretty light show, with a fair bit of comedy elements. But the drama aspect works when it has to. I've really enjoyed both eps. I think it could be the cast more than the writing that's helping me enjoy it though.

• The Big C
• The season's over half way through now and I'm not sure I like it. I mean, I enjoy it episode to episode, but I don't really care what's happening. There are a few laughs here and there though. So I'll keep it going, at least til the end of the season.

• Boardwalk Empire
• Really enjoying this one and it's nice to know there's already a second season in the bag. It's very slow going though and at an hour each ep, I kind of feel I have to prepare myself for it, to focus on it properly, so I don't miss anything.

Old Shows

• 30 Rock, American Dad, Chuck, Cougar Town, Family Guy, How I Met Your Mother, Supernatural, The Big Bang Theory, The Simpsons, Community, Fringe & Weeds. 

Videos
I started working on the 2010 video. I'm aware there's still a few months left of 2010, but I already have quite a lot of footage, so I thought I'd get a head start. So far I've edited together around 4-5 minutes worth of footage and used 2 songs. In total, I plan on using 3. So doing not bad.

I also uploaded the second part of  "The David Thomas Chronicles.", with the third part being uploaded on Oct. 31st, if all goes to plan. I'm aware they're not at all scary and just a bunch if immature 'kids' fucking around in graveyards, but we had fun.

Quiz
We went. We didn't do well. The end.