Not great news
The rehab place called Mom's assisted living facility to let them know she was ready to be released, and they sent a nurse over to evaluate her. Unfortunately, her conclusion is that Mom needs to go into memory care, as she doesn't feel she would be safe in plain assisted living. :( I wasn't able to get hold of the accountant over there before he left for the day, but he's supposed to call me first thing tomorrow to see if they have a space available in their memory care unit, and what it will cost. I am not looking forward to that. Assuming they have space and I don't die of sticker shock then and there, I have to see how much of Mom's furniture will fit in the new room, and move it over this weekend. And scope out her roommate, because all their memory care units are two person.
If they don't have space, I don't know what I'll do. Have a nervous breakdown and then call some other places, I guess. But rehab wants to discharge her Monday, so I have limited time to work in.
Mom is not happy about the prospect of a roommate, but resigned. She knows she needs more care -- she told me, when I went over this afternoon to explain all of this, "If I'd realized what that woman was asking me all those questions for, I'd have answered them better." The frustrating thing is, her memories are all still in there; they just don't seem to always reliably hook up right. When the nurse asked her when and where she'd fallen, she couldn't remember. When I reminded her later that it had been in front of her cardiologist's office, she said "Oh, that fall!" and described it pretty accurately. She sometimes has trouble coming up with the word she wants to use, and it frustrates her immensely; she knows what she wants to say, but can't come up with the right word to say it. She probably shouldn't be trusted with her own medication or bills any longer, but on the other hand, she can still have a sensible conversation if you're a bit patient with her. So I worry about the effect that the isolation of the memory care unit might have on her. I don't know if they ever let the higher-functioning memory care patients eat in the main dining room, or have any social contacts, or if they're all sequestered away. She's got friends in the assisted living section, whom she remembers perfectly well, and I hope that this doesn't mean she'll never see them again. :( :( :(
And I need to look into what it takes to sign up for Medicaid, because this will burn through her savings in no time.
Rants Talk to me
If they don't have space, I don't know what I'll do. Have a nervous breakdown and then call some other places, I guess. But rehab wants to discharge her Monday, so I have limited time to work in.
Mom is not happy about the prospect of a roommate, but resigned. She knows she needs more care -- she told me, when I went over this afternoon to explain all of this, "If I'd realized what that woman was asking me all those questions for, I'd have answered them better." The frustrating thing is, her memories are all still in there; they just don't seem to always reliably hook up right. When the nurse asked her when and where she'd fallen, she couldn't remember. When I reminded her later that it had been in front of her cardiologist's office, she said "Oh, that fall!" and described it pretty accurately. She sometimes has trouble coming up with the word she wants to use, and it frustrates her immensely; she knows what she wants to say, but can't come up with the right word to say it. She probably shouldn't be trusted with her own medication or bills any longer, but on the other hand, she can still have a sensible conversation if you're a bit patient with her. So I worry about the effect that the isolation of the memory care unit might have on her. I don't know if they ever let the higher-functioning memory care patients eat in the main dining room, or have any social contacts, or if they're all sequestered away. She's got friends in the assisted living section, whom she remembers perfectly well, and I hope that this doesn't mean she'll never see them again. :( :( :(
And I need to look into what it takes to sign up for Medicaid, because this will burn through her savings in no time.
Rants Talk to me