My mother recently moved into AL. She has yet to eat in the dining room, and it's been literally 2 months. She has any and every excuse, from not feeling well to being contagious, from not feeling like getting dressed to being full from the previous meal. The staff, of course, bring the meals to her room, and then she complains about the food. I have told her that if she goes to the dining room, she can choose the alternate, but if they bring her food, she gets what they pick. That has fallen on (literally) deaf ears. Finally, she tells me she has diarrhea and can't go to the dining room, but she wants me to take her out to lunch. (UGH!) So frustrating.
Any advice on how to motivate her to socialize with the residents? Driving me nuts, as she feels it's my responsibility to entertain her.
(She's been that way all of my life, relying on me and my life, which is a whole 'nother topic. Or better, therapy for me, haha! I don't look forward to the day she finds out that she has to be in a double room to get Medicaid. We are not made of money.)
I'm of a mind to stop visiting altogether until she starts participating.
Signed--Only Child who would like to get on with her Only Life, which was the point of AL.
I know the AL mom was in still won't let anyone visit outside the resident's apartment. But if your mom's allow it "take her out to lunch" in her own dining room.
Try and accompany your mom (if possible) to attend some activity.
Other than that have the staff work with her to get her out of her room. Maybe you need to not visit as often and leave her to her own devices and the staffs'.
Where mom was they'd bring meals to the room only when the resident was ill otherwise there was an additional charge.
Sometimes it takes time to adjust - let the staff do the heavy lifting here and stay more in the background. If mom is suffering depression or anxiety have her see her doc - maybe with some meds to take the edge off - or therapy she may "come out of her shell/room."
BTW, Mom just moved from the old AL where everything was still pretty much locked down to a new IL facility - that was wide open - however with the rise of pandemic again visitors have to sign in get temp check. Her food is not the institutional food served at the old AL facility but actual food - she's only complained about one of the meals. She was originally in AL because dad needed the additional care, but after he died I tried to get her to move closer - she's now 3 mins away as opposed to 30 minutes.
Good luck with mom.
she won’t eat in dining room. She complains about the food 7 days a week that is delivered to her. It falls on deaf ears (more choices in DR)
she tells me she has gained weight because of the food. She has actually gained 50 pounds since the lockdown. She’s very in active lifestyle. Won’t leave her room. Won’t socialize. Thinks everybody’s old and she’s young. Treats the staff badly. Treats me badly. Demands I bring her food.
but she is a hoarder and will not throw out takeout containers to go that are delivered to her. They sit on her table covered in mold. She yells at me and staff if we trying to throw them out. She spent one night overnight in the hospital and I cleared out and scrubbed and cleaned the apartment.
but otherwise I can’t get in there to clear out. I’m so afraid she will be thrown out for her bad living. She is very lazy. She throws trash in the floor rather than the trash barrel. It’s so gross!
hard to walk away from it because I want it clean for her and other residents.
ugh!
I am at a loss really.
You don’t have to stop visiting altogether unless you want to, but cut back to short visits every other day or so.
Absolutely true that she has to accept those who are helping her where she lives.
Her roommate, when she arrives, may temporarily change the dynamic she’s established for herself, but YOU should not be paying for her anyway, and a roommate’s activity may be helpful to her.
If you’ve chosen a nice place for her, and her helpers seem kind and interested in her, back up a little and let them become part of her life.
All you have really done is change her accommodation (pretty expensive motel...). These places should already have activity coordinators that bring residents together to develop familiarity and ultimately friendships (consolidated in the dining room as each comes to rely on the other). Your visits, although supportive and well intentioned, may be inadvertently breaking down this natural process.
As per your request... Therapy for you:-
Never think for one second that people with dementia lack intelligence. Many years of life experience, combined with the willingness of their children to be readily exploited, can be a potent mix of guilt and manipulation - hey, you might even be thinking all of this is what you chose to do!
Stop enabling your mother. Treat her gently and with respect, but understand that beneath that frail exterior, there lies a veritable factory of scheming and plotting to get their own way.
Do you consider yourself indispensable? Your mother may only see you as a resource in her present condition. Pass on the baton of responsibility as you have facilitated, and enjoy her company in moderation - for your own rehabilitation/transition to living a normal life.
@BarbBrooklyn: She's never been a joiner, I certainly don't expect her to start now. I just want her to get out of her room, moving around a bit, and meeting some of the other residents.
@lealonnie1: I've mentioned that. The threat of running out of money doesn't seem to faze her. I'm not sure if that's a good (happy go lucky) or a bad thing (can't figure it out). She's never been financially savvy. I thank my father for teaching me how to handle my finances.
@SunnyGirl: You know what? You are absolutely right. I'm sure that she is embarrassed. She has days where she can't see out of her new glasses. We just got estimates for hearing aids (O.M.G. are they expensive!! But I will pay for them out of my own money if she just stops saying "what?"). She definitely needs a bunch of dental work. She wants implants ($$$$$$); I want new dentures ($$$$). So we have some work to do so we can meet in the middle.
Eventually, she may like a roommate. Even if you have a roommate, they may not be in the room much. Once in MC, my LO spent most of her time wheeling around, sitting in tv room, etc, She did like most of her roommates quite a bit. As she progresses, her reaction might surprise you.
I wouldn’t stop visiting though. Just reassure her she’s fine and support her with her choices. Often, people with dementia know things aren’t right in their mind and they need that support from someone they trust. I’d keep in mind what you tell her may be forgotten each day, so each time it’s like the first time she’s heard it.
In the meantime, I'd have a chat with the ED of her AL and ask them what their policy is on delivering meals to the residents' rooms. In my mother's place, they really DO charge $5 per meal after a certain # of meals for room service. I think they get around 5 meals a month free or something like that, then there's a charge. The CGs have a lot better things to do than schlepping meals around to residents' rooms! My mother's place strongly discourages holing up in one's room, and in Memory Care now, there can be NO meals at all eaten in one's room unless the resident is ill.
Ask the ED to help you out here by coming up with a plan to get your mother OUT of her room and interacting with the other residents. Otherwise, I'd do as you said and refuse to visit her until she agrees to cooperate. The activities director used to come knock on my mother's door to urge her to come to social events every single time she didn't show up, too..........what's YOUR AD doing about your mom hiding out in her room all day? Find out!!
Good luck!
Your mom is allowed to refuse to socialize. You may need to let her be.