My Aunt, bless her, has the idea that if you use a wheelie- walker, or have a hand rail on a path or next to steps, you are somehow or other 'giving up'.
I can't really negotiate the terrain to her house, though, Lord help me, I did. I nearly cried just looking at where she expected me to stagger.
"You're all right!". "Please don't grab my arm; I need both to balance."
It's the necessity and the visibility of the aids, and hence the reality of the disability and the disease that upsets her, which I understand.
She is sad that I have MS, and so am I. But wishing it weren't so won't help.
She was the same with Grandpa, her Dad. She would not put rails in the house, or make the bathroom useable. Glass doors, slippery tiles, not enough room for a bath chair. He had dementia and could hardly walk.
She wouldn't let him have a walker. My mum and I bought him one, and a scooter. She couldn't cope.
"Oh, he doesn't need that yet! He's all right."
She'd take him to the supermarket, and the poor old love was terrified. "He likes shopping." Well no, he doesn't. She's a good woman; she just can't bear things she can't control.
Anyone else have relatives in denial?
I can't really negotiate the terrain to her house, though, Lord help me, I did. I nearly cried just looking at where she expected me to stagger.
"You're all right!". "Please don't grab my arm; I need both to balance."
It's the necessity and the visibility of the aids, and hence the reality of the disability and the disease that upsets her, which I understand.
She is sad that I have MS, and so am I. But wishing it weren't so won't help.
She was the same with Grandpa, her Dad. She would not put rails in the house, or make the bathroom useable. Glass doors, slippery tiles, not enough room for a bath chair. He had dementia and could hardly walk.
She wouldn't let him have a walker. My mum and I bought him one, and a scooter. She couldn't cope.
"Oh, he doesn't need that yet! He's all right."
She'd take him to the supermarket, and the poor old love was terrified. "He likes shopping." Well no, he doesn't. She's a good woman; she just can't bear things she can't control.
Anyone else have relatives in denial?