My Amazing Mum

My Mum has looked after elderly people since she was 17. She's worked in many places including Trevor Hospital in Rossett and moving on to be a home carer with social services. She enjoyed her work, spent time talking to all her clients even if she was over-running. "Just sitting with them gives them comfort", she used to say.

But about two years ago our lives changed. Mum was getting over shingles when she woke up in a hell of a lot of pain. At first she couldn't get out of bed. Going back and to to (sic) the doctor's became a routine for us. She was told they didn't know what was wrong and was given experimental medication to see what happened. Watching my Mum cry each morning as I helped her get dressed was painful. I wanted to take all the pain away but it was impossible.

My Mum gradually got worse, sleeping all hours of day and night in the chair, not in bed because she couldn't lie down anymore. A few weeks later she was rushed into hospital, her immune system so low, she needed four pints of blood immediately. After a week there she came home, her condition was still bad, nobody seemed to know what was wrong until one day she went to the orthopaedic hospital in Gobowen. There she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and was told that there was no cure. She would need two new hips and two new knees. She was given x-rays of her hips and burst into tears. They were shattered so badly doctors couldn't believe how she'd coped for so long. They had literally broken up. So far she has had one hip replacement which has improved her life tremendously. She's still in pain but no where near the discomfort she was been in. She's been through a lot over these past few years and I am so very proud of her.

Libby Hughes