Dementia for 2

My mom goes to visit my grandmother on the weekends. Since I work 10 hour days on the weekend, I don't usually go.

She calls me on Sunday to tell me what she found when she went on Saturday. Because my grandmother doesn't move around like she used to, the aides try to keep her in bed all day. This is not good for a variety of reasons. She doesn't turn herself. She prefers to be on her back. By not getting up and moving around she runs the risk of getting pneumonia and bedsores.

They put her to bed around 5pm on Saturday. Mom gets there Sunday morning around 8 or 9. My grandmother is still in bed in her pajamas. 16hours in bed. They brought her breakfast in to her and just left it with her. She has food all in her bed where she has tried to feed herself. My mom was LIVID. Needless to say she brought the roof down.

This is to let you know that you can go visit your loved on everyday and if you are not on top of things, their care will suffer. I am not saying my mom is not on top of granny's care because she is. But you can't be there all the time. They know one of us is there everyday. So you can imagine what is is like for those who have no family to visit on a regular basis.

Overall the care granny gets is good. But if you get 1 aide that is not cut out for this type of work everyone suffers especially your loved one.

When I went up there later in the week, she was up and in the day room. She was in a very good mood and ate all of her dinner. This is a big thing for my grandmother. Keeping her mind stimulated with new sights and people makes her whole being better. Her aide that night told me they have now instituted a policy that if they are able to be out of bed they are to be out of bed. I know this is harder on the aides but this is better for all the elderly that live there not just my grandmother.

I don't think my mom had anything to do with this but it is good to know that at least the people in charge do listen to what we say and do try to make things better for those that live there.

I encourage anyone who is able to volunteer to do so at a nursing home. Just to visit especially on the holidays. So many do not have family that can or will come and see them. This is a good thing for kids that need community service to do or anyone just wanting to make a difference. I am getting off my soapbox now.lol