The Adventures of Caring for a Mom With Alzheimer's Disease
Thanks in part to the support of some of you, I pulled myself together and decided to call my mom's case manager from the Area Agency on Aging. I recalled that she is to be notified by the senior facility and/or myself of any falls or hospitalizations. The case manager checks in with me once a month and I knew I was due to be hearing from her around today, April 1st, anyways.
I explained that nobody had contacted me regarding my mom's recent fall, but that she must have fallen fairly hard. She encouraged me to let the Executive Director know and gave me a contact name for the supervisor of the medical staff. While I was visiting last week, I spoke with the Executive Director. It is the first time she has heard me express disappointment with my mom's care. Normally, I sing the praises of the facility and am truly grateful for all they do. Although she is not directly responsible for the medical staff there, I told her I just thought she should be aware of what had happened. She was going to follow through with her housekeeping staff (who may have had knowledge of my mom's fall) and the medical staff, reminding them that families should be contacted, etc... I consider the Executive Director one of my favorite people in the world. She helped me soooo much at a time when I was soooo distraught and trying to get my mom into a place that could provide her with the care she needed. She was instrumental. It was difficult for me to bring this to her attention for that reason. She was professional and understanding. I will follow up with her again soon and then decide how to proceed with the medical staff supervisor.
On a lighter note, I brought my mom a box of creamsicles on my last visit -- she was thrilled!! I wish I could bring her "treats" more often, but you would be surprised how quickly she goes through these things!!
One kind of funny random side note. Lately my mom likes to talk about Kwame Kilpatrick (former Mayor, City of Detroit). She says, "Did you see them haul Kwame Kilpatrick's a** off to jail in handcuffs the other day?" Then she told me how everyone at the senior facility clapped when it was on TV!! If you lived in Metro Detroit, like us, you would know this has been loooonng overdue and many people are very happy he's finally getting what he deserves. My mom is one of them and has been repeating that story quite a lot!! That TV keeps her up on a lot of things, but some of them "stick" with her more than others.
You may recall I mentioned last week my mom had telephoned us around midnight because her light bulb was out... Well, a couple nights ago she called my cell phone at 3:52 am to say she needed a "couple of things" and that she would be there "all afternoon"!!! Interestingly, she rarely says what she "needs" on my voicemail. This always leaves the very strong possibility of her "forgetting" what she was wanting by the time I am able to get back to her. This time, my phone was on silent and I did not call her back until later that day. As best I can figure, this 4am call was because she needed "capri pants". I have many of her spring/summer clothes in another closet for her when the weather is more appropriate. I think it is, again, safe to say my mom's sleep schedule and sense of time are very off!!**
On another note, we never did find my mom's rings. It does make me sad, but I am still hoping they fall out of some furniture or clothing somewhere some day!!?? What is really interesting is that my mom has never brought up her rings to me since the day she realized they were missing. She loved those rings and we spent all kinds of time sizing them and discussing them. I am thankful she has not asked about them as I know it would upset her to remember they are missing. I do wonder if she remembers they are missing.
I talked to my mom, but did not spend Easter Sunday with her this year. However, I did put a couple of Easter touches around her apartment. Thankfully, her senior facility keeps things fun around there and I hear the Easter Bunny came and hid some eggs with jelly beans in them!!! My mom says she found some eggs and that they were "really easy to find - not hard"!!!
**See Additional Reading
Alzheimer's Care Like Walking Backwards with a Blindfold On, Bob DeMarco
http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/2013/03/alzheimers-care-like-walking-backwards.html
Thanks in part to the support of some of you, I pulled myself together and decided to call my mom's case manager from the Area Agency on Aging. I recalled that she is to be notified by the senior facility and/or myself of any falls or hospitalizations. The case manager checks in with me once a month and I knew I was due to be hearing from her around today, April 1st, anyways.
I explained that nobody had contacted me regarding my mom's recent fall, but that she must have fallen fairly hard. She encouraged me to let the Executive Director know and gave me a contact name for the supervisor of the medical staff. While I was visiting last week, I spoke with the Executive Director. It is the first time she has heard me express disappointment with my mom's care. Normally, I sing the praises of the facility and am truly grateful for all they do. Although she is not directly responsible for the medical staff there, I told her I just thought she should be aware of what had happened. She was going to follow through with her housekeeping staff (who may have had knowledge of my mom's fall) and the medical staff, reminding them that families should be contacted, etc... I consider the Executive Director one of my favorite people in the world. She helped me soooo much at a time when I was soooo distraught and trying to get my mom into a place that could provide her with the care she needed. She was instrumental. It was difficult for me to bring this to her attention for that reason. She was professional and understanding. I will follow up with her again soon and then decide how to proceed with the medical staff supervisor.
On a lighter note, I brought my mom a box of creamsicles on my last visit -- she was thrilled!! I wish I could bring her "treats" more often, but you would be surprised how quickly she goes through these things!!
One kind of funny random side note. Lately my mom likes to talk about Kwame Kilpatrick (former Mayor, City of Detroit). She says, "Did you see them haul Kwame Kilpatrick's a** off to jail in handcuffs the other day?" Then she told me how everyone at the senior facility clapped when it was on TV!! If you lived in Metro Detroit, like us, you would know this has been loooonng overdue and many people are very happy he's finally getting what he deserves. My mom is one of them and has been repeating that story quite a lot!! That TV keeps her up on a lot of things, but some of them "stick" with her more than others.
You may recall I mentioned last week my mom had telephoned us around midnight because her light bulb was out... Well, a couple nights ago she called my cell phone at 3:52 am to say she needed a "couple of things" and that she would be there "all afternoon"!!! Interestingly, she rarely says what she "needs" on my voicemail. This always leaves the very strong possibility of her "forgetting" what she was wanting by the time I am able to get back to her. This time, my phone was on silent and I did not call her back until later that day. As best I can figure, this 4am call was because she needed "capri pants". I have many of her spring/summer clothes in another closet for her when the weather is more appropriate. I think it is, again, safe to say my mom's sleep schedule and sense of time are very off!!**
On another note, we never did find my mom's rings. It does make me sad, but I am still hoping they fall out of some furniture or clothing somewhere some day!!?? What is really interesting is that my mom has never brought up her rings to me since the day she realized they were missing. She loved those rings and we spent all kinds of time sizing them and discussing them. I am thankful she has not asked about them as I know it would upset her to remember they are missing. I do wonder if she remembers they are missing.
I talked to my mom, but did not spend Easter Sunday with her this year. However, I did put a couple of Easter touches around her apartment. Thankfully, her senior facility keeps things fun around there and I hear the Easter Bunny came and hid some eggs with jelly beans in them!!! My mom says she found some eggs and that they were "really easy to find - not hard"!!!
**See Additional Reading
Alzheimer's Care Like Walking Backwards with a Blindfold On, Bob DeMarco
http://www.alzheimersreadingroom.com/2013/03/alzheimers-care-like-walking-backwards.html
3 comments:
I'm glad you spoke to the Director. I read about your moms fall and I meant to get back with a comment but really I just felt so sad. I know these things can happen but notification is so important.
Keep up with the Director and anybody who needs to hear about this. If this facility wants to keep it's good rep, it's important that they follow through with all staff. Sometimes we think housekeeping staff aren't care givers like nursing or other professionals. But they are an important part of the running of any company. It would make sense they may have known about the fall but felt "it wasn't their job" to report it. Hope it all gets a good outcome for the future. Her apartment looks very festive! I'm glad she had a good day and I hope your Easter was wonderful too!
You didn't even tell me about the fall!!?? ...and, hey,...My calling you a "good egg" would have been more appropriate for THIS post...Just sayin'..!! XO Call me and fill me in on things, K?
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