Families of patients

Hi all
I've just had a week on my new placement on ward 3K at RPH WSC. It's a gerontology ward, but it has a focus on quickly returning patients to functional levels prior to discharge. So far it's going ok. My issue this week has to do with the family of one of my patients. This particular patient is always enthusiastic and keen to engage in the PT process. She still has a number of medical issues keeping her in hospital, but nevertheless she always tries hard with the rehab sessions we have with her. I was talking with one of her children the other day, who asked if physio was worth it, given that her mum is still ill (cardiac issues among others). This person actually became quite aggressive, accusing me of pushing her mum when she is sick, adding that her mother does nothing anyway. She seemed to feel that her mum was just waiting to die. I assured this person that the demands I place on her mother are minimal and quite safe. I also said that I had got quite the opposite impression from her mum, who is always keen to engage in PT. I was supported in my reply by the senior physio, who overheard the conversation. What made the biggest impression on me was the way this person spoke about her mother in such negative terms - she can't do this, won't do that. I listened to her for a while as she complained about the imposition her mothers health had made on her family and I realised that this person now thought of her mother only in terms of the burden that she had become over the last few years. What had started off as questioning the safety of what I was doing ended up in this person questioning why I bothered. Anyway, I felt that I had explained myself sufficiently so I moved on to my next patient. I guess it just shows the effect that chronic disease has on families.