My mom has been in Assisted Living for about 3 months now. She has Frontal Lobe Dementia and Delusional Disorder. She is there because she gave over $80000 to an overseas scammer that she thinks is in love with her and she believes he is coming for her at any time. Even after I got legal guardianship and tried to keep her at home, she sold 90% of her furniture to continue sending him money. Now that she's at the facility, she continues to be obsessed with "Freddie", thinks he will come pick her up, etc. Apparently in the past week or so, the Facility Director says she is losing more touch with reality and everything she says or does relates back to "Freddie". She has also gone into deep depression, which she has struggled with for years. Given the concern, they scheduled a Psych appointment for her tomorrow and some consideration is being given to doing a "Short-Term" commitment to a mental/behavioral facility to get her more stable. Has anyone dealt with this and what were the outcomes?
My mother has been committed to a psych ward, and as she aged, a geriatric psych ward, innumerable times throughout her life. In the early years it was called manic depression, and now it’s called Bipolar Disorder. All times she was off her meds, or they needed to be adjusted. Now that someone else is responsible for her medication there have been way less episodes in which she has had to be hospitalized. She has mild to moderate dementia for which she takes medication also.
Your mother will be sent to a geriatric ward. This is to insure her safety and because the elderly sometimes have mental disorders that are best treated by doctors knowledgeable in geriatric medicine.
She will be in a locked ward with very limited visitation. It may be a week or up to a month while they try to stabilize her. These wards saved my mother’s life over and over again. I think about how in years past, she would have been locked away in a mental institution for years or longer.
I remember one time seeing a woman hunched over, drooling and mumbling to herself while she picked apart a seat cushion. Two weeks later, while visiting with my mother, I witnessed this same woman walking down the hall talking and laughing with her daughters while on her way to getting processed to go home. I couldn’t believe it was the same woman!
I think it is a VERY good thing that her ALF is suggesting this step. There are some posters on this forum who have experienced that a facility’s first reaction was to kick out the resident.
I hope and and pray that your mother can find some help there. Stay in touch with the hospital, visit often, and ask questions. You should be able to see some positive change in your mother. If not, ask to send her to a different psych ward. I think we had to do this one time.
That scammer (outright thief!) should be sitting in jail for the rest of his life so he can’t do this to other families.
I’m so sorry! Best wishes to you and your family.