@Yardlie We've been through exactly what you are doing. It confusing for your mom. Help her understand what it going on by reminding her over and over and over. She'll forget but she needs to be reassured again and again that you are taking care of the details and she will be fine. She needs to be comforted. She's in a cold, strange and lonely place. Warm hugs are so important right now!
Are you in a large enough City that you have several options available? I was fortunate to be able to visit many facilities and select the best of them! I did and placed mom in the one which suited her needs at the time and what I anticipated for the future, including PT, a foot Dr. on staff (to trim her toenails), a whirlpool bath (she hated showers after the dementia became worse), a beauty shop, a store (in-house) to buy M&M's, an in-house movie theater (which she loved until the last two years; then she couldn't concentrate enough to follow the movie), etc. I've forgotten what else we did in the Assisted Living and Skilled Care facilities . . . but I tried to keep her mind as active as possible by having her in the best place available. I also took word game, math games, state and world puzzles and we'd do them together. Some days were good; other days not so great. But it kept her occupied and her mind alive. When she no longer read her newspaper, I began reading books to her. We knitted together for many years. We took road trips, but as her energy waned we began to stay in Lincoln and simply drove around Lincoln. She had forgotten where she had lived and each trip was a new adventure. Mom loved those drives; they were painful for me, but so good for her that we continued to do them. Plus, she was getting fresh air and some sun! Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. It's a long journey. I would not have missed sharing it with my mom for anything. It was so rewarding. The exhaustion was worth every minute. I learned more from that experience than from anything in any book or class on dementia or alzheimers. I'm now volunteering with our Church to help other families going through the same problems with loved one(s). It hits every family. Blessings.
ETA: Following this fall, your mom may become incontinent. That's when my mom began to go downhill with other problems . . . not just memory. I imagine that's why they have moved her and want PT for her balance, eating, walking, hygiene, dressing, etc. This is bringing back a flood of memories. More prayers for you. Strength, too.
Money screams; wealth whispers.
Blogs & Forums
