Follow
Share

So I assume from what I have been reading that I know what this is however I am not sure if we can just take MIL and drop her off or if the hospital would even keep her. Today has been a really bad day so far as was yesterday and if we mention calling the ambulance for her she literally freaks out but at this point I am not sure what if any other options we have left. If she has been awake for a total of 10 hours the past 2 days you are lucky and every one just keeps telling us to let her sleep she is 92 and she is tired but it just doesn't feel right. Thanks for listening this forum has been a wealth of information and knowledge.

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Becca, you tell you that you and your husband disagree about making your MIL get up. If he wants her up, fine. Let HIM get her up. She is his Mom.
You say you "just feel it is better she is placed" and as you both agree on that, then yes, it is time to do that.
If one of you has the POA to do this, AND your MIL is diagnosed with dementia, then you can place her. If she is not, and she clearly cannot act in her own interests and behalf you will need to have her assessed. This means ER visit and getting her placed for evaluation in the hospital, and at that time you can, if you don't have the POA, get emergency temporary conservatorship/guardianship throught he Social Worker. Start on day one telling Social Worker that you cannot care for her at home and will not accept discharge home.
If she is both diagnosed at this time, and also someone has POA,then that person can begin gathering assets, account statements, all needed to apply for Medicaid if she has not assets enough for placement, and looking for placement.
Since you say MIL will scream through anything you do that makes it not relevant. Her screaming at EMT people is going to get her placed. When you call ambulance, if you must you will tell them NOT that she sleeps all the time and you can't take care of her, but the more dramatic that she screams and is violent and ill and you don't know what's wrong with her, but she very sick and won't go to the doctor. Tell your MIL that is what you are going to do if she remains uncooperative.
Your mother in law is never going to cooperate in getting this move done. You would do well to wait the 6 months until there is more control over Covid-19 because this is going to be very much more difficult until then.
I would say your story does provide Caution to all who consider moving an elder into their own homes.
Helpful Answer (3)
Report

Schedule video appointments with her physician? If you have Medical PoA, the doctor may talk to you without involving your mom. Consider hospice or palliative care?
After my mom had an episode that might have been a mini-stroke, she slept a lot, but after a couple of days she came out of it. She has had a few of these episodes, but she does not want to go to the ER. Since she is already taking medicines to prevent stroke, and doesn't want any extraordinary measures, there isn't anything they can do anyway. She had asked to be on hospice for a couple of years, but didn't qualify.
Sooo, with that background, after one episode, when she never really became more oriented, I scheduled a video appointment with her physician, and we discussed hospice. The doctor agreed that she did qualify for hospice, so I set it up.
The best thing about hospice is the nurse! My mom gets a weekly visit from the nurse assigned to her. The nurse knows my mom and her conditions. I can ask any question, no matter how dumb, and I get a thoughtful, respectful answer. I can call the hospice company any time, and I can ask my mom's nurse to call me when she is on duty. The nurse and I have good discussions about the pros and cons of different treatments and strategies and how they fit with my mom's wishes, so I can make balanced, informed decisions. The hospice doctor has visited a couple of times, and the nurse keeps him updated on my mom's condition.
My mom has been receiving hospice care for 5 months now, and I feel really comfortable that she is receiving the best care for her time of life. (p.s. we didn't give up on her, and didn't stop any medication or care in order to make her die faster, as a matter of fact, with 24-hr access to hospice, we are more able to react quickly to changes in my mom's condition.)
Helpful Answer (2)
Report

They sleep a lot when they are near the end. All my mom did was sleep and barely ate and then started to refuse to eat. That's what happens.
Helpful Answer (2)
Report

Good morning all....Sorry for the delay in responding but we had a sick dog last night too. We have tried getting MIL to see her Dr. however when the time comes she refuses to and will not even hear of the virtual visit. She has said that her knees which she has osteoarthritis in having been bothering more lately and she seems sort out it occasionally but not all the time if that makes any sense. I think a lot of it is just us because we do not know how to deal with any of this when it just doesn't seem normal to us. I did suggest just letting her sleep but hubby said she needs to get up and move which I get and then we get into a disagreement over it. We both think at this point she would better taken care of elsewhere since we both work and cannot keep up. We just want to be sure she taking her meds, fed, and getting the basics she needs.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

Let her sleep
Helpful Answer (2)
Report

Has she complained about not feeling well or is she just tired?
Helpful Answer (3)
Report

Have you tried getting an appointment with her doctor? ER's are for emergencies, not for 92 year olds sleeping a lot. Are you wanting her placed in a facility?
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

My 96 year old mother slept alot. She would sleep all day and then cat nap at night. She said she would wake up and then feel tired and go back to bed. My friend's 98 year old father is the same way. He comes out to the kitchen table to eat breakfast, and then goes back to sleep with his head on the table.

My friend was so worried that her father was sleeping too much that she called the doctor's office and told the nurse what was happening.

The nurse said to my friend "what do you expect him to do? He's 98 years old!!"
Helpful Answer (4)
Report

Let her sleep. It is important when awake to offer food and change and movement, trying to prevent bedsores. It is almost certainly time now for palliative care and hospice care. Don't force food as this can cause choking. At the moment you do not really have anything to call an ambulance about. They would be unlikely to transport her to covid infested ER under current conditions. Continue supportive care and speak to the MD about Hospice for extra care and help.
Helpful Answer (4)
Report
InFamilyService Jan 2021
Very good advice and palliative care team can access her needs. They can offer support and good care. It very well may mean nearing their journey's end.
(2)
Report
why doesn’t it feel right to let a 92 year old sleep? If that’s all she’s doing, I am not understanding the problem. Do you realize that if your ER dump is successful, she will go to a nursing home and.....sleep all day? They won’t force her to do a thing. I’m just wondering what exactly you are wanting to happen here. Do you want her to be awake and alert or are you burnt out and unable to care for her?
Helpful Answer (2)
Report

If your MIL has only been awake for only 10 hours in the last 2 days, why are you having such bad days? I would think your days would be rather peaceful with her sleeping so much. Instead of an ER dump, it sounds more like you need to be getting hospice involved, as someone sleeping that much can be a sign that death is near. If you don't want her dying in your home, hospice can have her brought to their facility to die. Please call them first thing tomorrow morning. You'll be glad you did.
Helpful Answer (3)
Report

She needs to be admitted to do the ER dump. Then you have the hospital resources get her placed. Dropping her off at the ER then taking off is a granny dump and much more frowned upon.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

Do you think she needs the ER like she's in imminent danger of dying? If so, take her to the ER whether she likes it or not. If it's very serious, could call 911.

If not, maybe get her in to see her doctor. At least call her doctor. If they really want to see her, make something up like "the doctor needs to see you for insurance purposes" or something like that.
Helpful Answer (1)
Report

This question has been closed for answers. Ask a New Question.
Ask a Question
Subscribe to
Our Newsletter