Mum was diagnosed with Vascular Dementia on her 66th birthday. Six months later she was also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Both diagnoses followed a long-term misdiagnosis of bipolar and mis-medicating with a strong anti-psychotic for years, which left Mum glassy-eyed and incapable of living in any meaningful way. The consultant psychiatrist refused to acknowledge my fears that she had misdiagnosed Mum and that Mum was possibly suffering from a completely different ailment, which we suggested could be dementia. At that time, the drug Mum was prescribed stated that it could prove fatal in those suffering from dementia. Mum’s GP colluded with the consultant psychiatrist, after we sought his help to get Mum off the drug, so she remained on it until she was hospitalised for 6 months under the care of an entirely different medical team. Upon release from hospital, the ‘new’ consultant psychiatrist stated that he had seen no signs of bipolar. Bipolar is still listed on Mum’s medical records and no one has taken responsibility for the years of my mother’s life where she was drugged to within an inch of her life. The knock on effect for all of us was/is horrific. In 2015 Mum moved into her first care home. A few year’s later we had to remove her as they refused to put her on a diabetic meal plan, after we discovered that she was borderline diabetic. Mum’s care was then downgraded by her then social worker, who advised that we move Mum into an assisted living facility, despite her fairly advanced dementia. It was such a horrific experience for all of us (Mum was neglected, starved, fed raw food from the freezer, had a carer get on to her bed at night and so much more). The care home denied everything despite an abundance of proof, including copies of their own records. We then moved Mum into a new care home, where the manager promised to put Mum on a diabetic meal plan. At that time, Mum’s blood sugar levels were in the normal range. Within 6 weeks, her levels were in the fully diabetic range. I requested help from the local authority and was ignored. The same local authority who had misdiagnosed/mis-drugged Mum, downgraded her care to a horrific local authority run home, held an in-house inquiry into the horror’s there and found nothing… Three years on, after all of the above, and the two long lockdown years, where care home residents were incarcerated and kept from loved ones, we are finally bringing Mum home. We asked to do so at the beginning of the first lockdown in March 2020 but were ignored. This blog will follow our journey and progress with Mum. Not only do we want to provide her with an abundance of love, care and interaction but we also want to achieve optimum health and a reduction in daily medication. Please join us especially if any of our experiences resonate with you.
Toula Mavridou-Messer 