She moved in with me. I live in over 55 community and she and husband got divorced last year. She is 74 yrs old. She is still driving and has had 2 accidents in the last 6 months.
Today I go to the mailbox and a board member stops me and says 3 people have complained about her driving.
Sad she is going to cause a major accident. She gets very confused and don’t know where she is or what she is doing. What do I do? Would it be wrong to hide the car keys?
Someone, or perhaps more than one person has observed your sister driving in an unsafe manner in your development. People naturally don’t like to “make waves”, so if these people went to management, there must be a real problem with her driving unsafely. There may have been near misses. She could get out in the road, panic, cause an accident and kill someone. She could also become confused and become lost. You might not find her.
You need to explain to your sister that she can no longer drive. She will be upset and if you are driving, you need to assure her that you will take her out a few times a week or find a senior van for transportation for her. She will not be “stuck”. You can enlist the help of her doctor. But, you must stop her from driving.
Caring for someone with dementia is a whole other issue. There are many many people on this forum who have been in your shoes and can give you solid guidance, when you are ready. I wish you courage and peace in your heart as you work out solutions for your sister and yourself.
There is not necessarily 'medicine' your sister can be prescribed for dementia. My mother has had it since before 2016 & takes no Rx's specifically for the disease. If your sister begins to exhibit signs of agitation or starts having hallucinations, etc, then she may be able to get an Rx to help. But she does need to get tested and then you need to have Plan B in force for the time she gets to be too much to manage at home, which happens quite often. The best thing you can do is read up on the subject and see what challenges you have ahead.
Wishing you the best of luck. Come here often for support and tips; we're all caring for elders and have experience, hope & strength to share.
Tell her that she will have to rely on them for rides unless you are willing to transport her to these places.