I so understand everything you talked about. Both my parents had dementia, varying degrees at times. I brought them to my city and put them in an assisted living where they did fine for 1-1/2 years but my dad had aggression with his dementia as a result of alcoholism and I had to move him 4 times in one year. That meant extended times at psychiatric facilities, hospital stays and memory care facilities, all the while my mom was so confused as to where he was, was he out catting around with the guys, ladies, etc. Trying times for sure. The last facility I had my dad in, we had to move him from AL to memory care, as he would go out into the parking lot and climb into unlocked cars. After two falls by my mom on Father's Day, and a 3-month stay in rehab, I decided enough was enough, they needed to be together for whatever time they had left so I moved her to his memory care facility where they were happy together for the time remaining. Mom was on hospice for a year as a result of her hospital stay and dad only was on hospice two weeks before he passed Sept. 14 and mom passed Nov. 14 so they are both together, free of confusion and pain. I'm thankful for all the caregivers who helped my folks, especially their hospice team, but I will always remember the trying times to deal and understand what they were going through. God Bless you and your husband as you go through this journey together.

Marlis, my brothers and I went thru the very same thing when our mother was in the hospital last year. She was much clearer in a week but her dementia is progressing. She now lives with me and my family which has been a huge adjustment. Well, we actually haven't adjusted so well at all. Hang in there with your husband and I so hope he does well in rehab.

Marlis, I am going through something similar with both my parents. My Mom is the patient in the hospital [she had a bad fall at home] so I decided to let my Dad stay overnight in her room as the hospital has provisions for overnight guests in the same room.

The next day the nurses asked me not to leave Dad alone in the room with Mom as apparently sometime during the night he pushed the "emergency" button on the Code box behind the bed, instead of Dad using the control that is on the bed to ring the nurse. The nurses thought it was Code Blue so it was a mad dash with the crash cart to my Mom's room. I was so surprised at how confused my Dad was in the hospital, and it was the same hospital he and Mom had done volunteer work for decades.

Once I got Dad back home I had to stay the night with him because I didn't know how long he would stay befuddled. The next day his mind was much clearer.

My Mom did develop delirium which I had never witnessed before, that was quite scary. I did some research on that and apparently 80% of elders have this when in the hospital and in some cases it can last a week. It seemed so odd to see my Mom being confused as she is still pretty sharp at 97.

Marlis, hope your hubby has smooth sailing in rehab. Let us know how he is doing. I have been following your blog for over a year now.

They said my husband has dementia, he is only 57 years old. He was so bad in the hospital, no rehab would accept him. I had to take him home and he is much better. Can't believe rehab can refuse you.

I sympathize with this topic. I'm in a letter writing mode with my local hospital over their lack of adequate care for the dementia patient and/or the senior with delirium. Your paragraph about the constant interruption, beeps, and other distractions is dead on. The giant 'Quiet' signs in the halls are a joke. I hope your husband recovers quickly and completely. If off site rehab is recommended, INSIST that a facility specializing in dementia patients is selected. A regular nursing home will be worse than the hospital. Best of Luck. Roxy (Care-giver for my mother)