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How can I get a father who forgets the times when he's not capable to accept that he needs respite care instead of just staying on his own?

"Appropriate" is whatever time you need.

The "appropriate" time is now.

You can call APS (Adult Protective Services)"
They will come out to you.

You can pack the two of you into the car and show up at the E.R. (An emergency room.)

You can call anyone just to come over, now. Go from there.

It depends upon you.

--You can STOP. Just stop trying to get your Father to change anything. STOP.
End that conversation. Sit down in another room, or go home.

Talk to someone. You can call the Nurse help line at your insurance company.
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Reply to Sendhelp
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It sounds like YOU need respite care and dad needs Memory Care Assisted Living or the equivalent. If you have POA and dad has a diagnosis of dementia, you can place him in respite care for a short term break or permanently, if he's no longer safe to live alone. Consult an elder care attorney for options, or call around to the various Memory Care Assisted Living facilities to find out availability and cost, which dad would pay. Stop trying to convince him of anything. Logic and reasoning no longer exist for elders with dementia.

Best of luck to you.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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You cannot convince anyone of anything in life. That's a good lesson to get as early as you are able.
One way, however, that you can take care of things is:
1. Take care of YOU.
2. That means you set limits on what you will do, and provide your father with phone numbers for area agencies and care.com for extra help you may need.
3. If your father has DEMENTIA, it is even less likely you can convince him of anything or get him to cooperate.
4. You cannot take care of an uncooperative senior.
5. Call APS and ask them to do a wellness check and intervention if needed. Tell them that you cannot function to help your father, and if they agree that he is in NEED of help you would like them to begin state guardianship for him.
6. Understand that when/if the state takes over you will not have input into placement or management of his finances, and neither will he. Let him know that now.

No one, and certainly no members of a forum located in dots all over the USA and not a few countries, can manage your health care, mental AND physical for you. YOU have to do that. If you find that you cannot manage, and have honestly tried hard to do this, then see a good cognitive therapist to help you plan a way forward for yourself.

Part of all of this is what the good old Serenity Prayer teaches us. Some things can be fixed, but many cannot, and we need to develop the wisdom to know which are which.
I truly wish you the very best. Change is hard work, and it is FRIGHTENING, because no matter how bad things get, it is a comfort that they are a sort of "normal" in our lives. Change is scary. Pat yourself on the back as you work for your freedom and happiness. It's truly tough, but so rewarding.
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Reply to AlvaDeer
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