I got a call at 9 p.m (as I was almost finished cooking dinner) from
Atria. My mother was upset and agitated. Same ol', same ol' ... didn't
know who she was, where she was or what she was supposed to do. I tried
to calm her down on the phone and tell her what she had to do was go to
bed and I'd be there in the morning. But that was WAY too complicated I
asked her to let me speak to the girl in the room with her, and she hung
up. I called back and asked her to hand the receiver to the girl. She
said "I don't understand a word you're saying." I said "you know the
thing you are holding in your hand and talking into" (she said she did)
"give that to the girl in the room." She did. The girl seemed to think
there was no way she was going to be able to calm her down, so I dropped
everything, gave Walt instructions for how to finish cooking his dinner,
and went over there.
I could see she was in one of her bad states. She didn't know who I was and just sat there clutching her purse and saying she was scared.
I told the girl I could handle it and I took her to the couch and at down with her. I told her I knew she was scared and jst kept talking to her calmly until I finally got her more calm, but still scared and still the same questions
I've finally found an explanation that seems to make sense to her At least she accepts it all twenty-'leben times I use it with her. (in case you need to explain dementia to her at some point). I tell her that there is a disease in her brain that is gradually eating away pieces of her brain and that there is no pill she can take that will make it better. The first time I used that a few days ago, she said "Well THAT I can understand!"
I got her talking about the family and how her mother and Barb both suffered from this and she even sort of remembered her mother having it, though she can't remember being married to Fred. When I brought out his picture she said she sort of remembered him and that he looked like a nice man.
Anyway, it took an hour but I finally got her off the couch, into her PJs and in bed. I told her I'd be there first thing in the morning. She is terrified she will wake up in the middle of the night and not know what to do. She was upset that I wasn't going to spend the night. I was going to try to get her to wear her call button, but it has, of course, disappeared...and it's really not that important because she wouldn't remember to use it anyway. At least if she gets terrified and leaves the apartment she has PANTS on this time.
I could see she was in one of her bad states. She didn't know who I was and just sat there clutching her purse and saying she was scared.
I told the girl I could handle it and I took her to the couch and at down with her. I told her I knew she was scared and jst kept talking to her calmly until I finally got her more calm, but still scared and still the same questions
I've finally found an explanation that seems to make sense to her At least she accepts it all twenty-'leben times I use it with her. (in case you need to explain dementia to her at some point). I tell her that there is a disease in her brain that is gradually eating away pieces of her brain and that there is no pill she can take that will make it better. The first time I used that a few days ago, she said "Well THAT I can understand!"
I got her talking about the family and how her mother and Barb both suffered from this and she even sort of remembered her mother having it, though she can't remember being married to Fred. When I brought out his picture she said she sort of remembered him and that he looked like a nice man.
Anyway, it took an hour but I finally got her off the couch, into her PJs and in bed. I told her I'd be there first thing in the morning. She is terrified she will wake up in the middle of the night and not know what to do. She was upset that I wasn't going to spend the night. I was going to try to get her to wear her call button, but it has, of course, disappeared...and it's really not that important because she wouldn't remember to use it anyway. At least if she gets terrified and leaves the apartment she has PANTS on this time.
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