Any advice would be appreciated
My younger sister and I have MS.
She was diagnosed over 15 years ago and chose to put it to the back of her mind and get on with her life and bring up her daughter.
She has never had any treatment and is now secondary progressive.
After 38 years of working she has had to take ill health retirement as it became physically impossible to continue mainly due to her mobility.
A couple of days after retirement she fell at home and broke her shoulder resulting in her having to have a shoulder replacement.
She hasn't left the house since other than to go to hospital appointments which she insists she can't manage on her own.
That was understandable at first but she is now a number of months on.
My concern is when I try to raise the possibility of her using a mobility aid so she can be independent she just shuts me down.
I had surgery earlier this year and got a stick to help me.
I suggested that she try using this but she wouldn't even try it.
She will no longer visit my home as I don't have a downstairs toilet but she has always managed previously and we are here to help her if needed.
She is seeing a neuro physio and I suggested she would be the ideal person to help her find the best aids for her and how to safely use them.
She doesn't say anything when I raise the issue.
Myself or my husband and one good friend are going with my sister to the GP , hospital, hairdressers etc basically anywhere she needs to go.
My mum is in a care home and we also visit her once a week.
I don't know how to help my sister and don't want to upset her but I'm worried about her mental and physical health.
I realise she has lost confidence but she needs to help herself gain her life back.
It's also putting extra pressure on me and my husband.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I feel for your sister, as I was the same at the start and I would not accept any help. She needs to get a MS nurse, as she put everything in place for me and get her to seek help from occupational therapy and adult services. I'd she won't i don't know what you can do. Put the suggestions in for her and see what she says. Good luck.
Thanks Vanessa she does have a MS nurse although at the moment it seems to be you leave a voicemail message and whichever nurse is available gets back to you. She does live alone and that hasn't helped. Her anxiety is off the chart. The thing is she's had MS for about 20 years and has coped pretty well until the last 18mths. Now she is limiting her life to her home and just gets annoyed or angry if I mention anything to do with aids that may help. She just says she can't do something before she's tried it. We're all different but it's difficult for me to get my head around why she won't accept help to get her back on her feet ie stick, crutches, rollator , wheelchair if necessary. Just try and find which suits her best. You can now buy modern aids that are more like a fashion accessory. I'm at a loss because I'm just hitting a brick wall.