Commented on a discussion 6/28/2009 at 11:52 am
My mother started losing her memory last summer (and here and there earlier I suspect). Mom worked hard all her life and was determined to stay in her apartment forever.
...Read MoreMy mother started losing her memory last summer (and here and there earlier I suspect). Mom worked hard all her life and was determined to stay in her apartment forever.
Her family care doctor didn't really help make the decision to place her in a SAFER home and environment. We had to. It wasn't easy by any means, but in September '08, she had a small oven fire which brought me, the Fire Department and others to her aid. I took the opportunity to send her to the hospital for evaluation (told her they wanted to check her breathing). Prior to this she had started packing her belongs (clothes, food in the refrigerator, etc.) and stated that she was going home. But, she never went anywhere. From there, she was placed in a nursing home for further evaluation. They said she was an Alztheimers patient and needed long term care. This only began our trip down a very frustrating trip with nursing homes.
She was originally placed in a nursing home away from us. But, was eventually moved to a place closer. She wasn't an ideal patient because she was unhappy and anxious away from her home. Several of my brothers and my sister visited her regularly to make it easier on her. She finally settled down and was somewhat happy. We were able to take her out for lunch or breakfast any time and she enjoyed these times with us.
Unfortunately, my mother developed "Sundowners Syndrome" which changed her life. As the sun came down later in the day, she would become beligerent, interferring with staff and assaulting other patients. They would send her to the hospital for re-evaluation. This happened 2 or 3 times until the nursing home kicked her out. They were not able to handle the new her even with medications. Next, after visiting many nursing homes within our area, we found one that we liked and one that was not fazed by her Sundowners Syndrome actions. They have been wonderful to her and she appears very happy there. She was a CNA and continues think she is still helping the nurses and aides.
She was not completely settled until February of '09. As you can see, it took quite a while to come this far. We continue to visit regularly and can see she is happy there. It may take a long while (including working to get a Power of Attorney to allow us to make decisions for her), but it was well worth the effort.
/njb