Re: New to the Group/

[Guest guest]

Hi

Thought I'd throw my two cents in. My MIL was uncooperative in

regards to her physical therapy after her last hip break in January.

Each time we were at the facility, we said she needed to do it in

order to be able to walk and come home with us. She happily agreed

to, but then refused each time the PT came to get her. We ended up

bringing her home early as there was no point in her staying. In

regards to settling in, it took about a week that time. We were in

the process of building our new home and moved her again at the end

of April, it took longer this time, couldn't find the bathroom for

about 3 weeks. This was disruptive to my sleep more than once each

night. She would come into my bedroom and turn on the top light.

Thankfully this gradually got better. She now knows where it is.

Last Friday night we decided to take her out to see Mark play

soccer. We ended up being out for only an hour, but when she came in

the door was a little confused as to where she was and where her

bedroom and bathroom was. I too believe that at a certain point,

familiarity and routine are the best for them. My MIL thinks she is

in a NH now! The next move will be hard on her, we hope it will be

our first choice facility as we have decided that she will only make

one final move. I just to add something that I find amusing. My 92

yr old grandma that lives with her 88 yr.old sister (sis has

alzheimers) does not want to go in a home and each time I talk to

her she asks how MIL is doing and when I say " fine " , grandma gives a

bit of a hmph!! sound, displeased with my answer I figure. She will

ask if MIL still thinks if she is in a NH, and when I respond yes,

she says it wouldn't matter then where she was. Grandma wants to

move in here and is trying to move out the competition!

> ,

>

> I think the time it takes our LOs to adapt varies as greatly as LBD

itself does. On June 26, my Dad fell and broke his femur right below

the hip. After surgery, he had to be placed in a skilled nursing

facility to learn to walk again. (He didn't meet the medicare

criteria for rehab because of his dementia).

>

> For the first 2 weeks, he endlessly asked when he could go home. I

used this as a motivation and told him that when he could walk from

his bed to the door of his room, I'd take him home. This did help

him cooperate more with the therapy.

>

> As time went by, he quit asking to go home as much, and by the 4th

week (just before he was ready to go home), I said something to him

about going home. He responded, " I thought this was my home. " So he

had settled in and was use to the routine at skilled nursing.

>

> When we finally did bring him home, it was as if he had never seen

it before. It took him at least a week to get back into his old

routine. He didn't ask to go back to the skilled nursing facililty,

but I don't know if he realizes that he is back to the same home he

left just over a month ago.

>

> Margee

>

>

>