She had a tumor removed in November of last year and it has left her paralyzed on her left side. We've been through rehab and are now at home with home health coming in. She works through her therapy and is gaining what she lost slowly but surely. She she has a positive outlook on recovery but I still can't seem to get her to eat or drink enough. It is a battle every single day. Any tips or advice are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Seniors often don't have the appetite they once did. Plus, limited mobility reduces the amount of calories they need. As long as she is competent, I would let her decide what and how much she eats. Her time should be enjoyed and not focused on pleasing others with their diet. That's just how I look at it. In their last years, I think my parents should eat as they please.
I also bring her fresh fruit or 1-2 of her favorite foods when I visit and she enjoys those when we do a puzzle. My mother thinks people eat her food so I have learned not to leave anything for her when I leave. So I agree with an earlier comment about socializing. As for the puzzle, I have ordered about 20+ different ones with larger, thick pieces. We can do a 100-piece puzzle in an hour and now I bring one each time to do. She doesn't really remember if we have done the same puzzle, but I do so that is why I needed some new ones to do. You can order them at walmart.com for a reasonable price and use the filter for the number of pieces you want. There are sites (that sell puzzles for Alzheimer's patients) but these puzzles cost so much more.
Good luck!
So I went over every morning and started making her a good breakfast (eggs/toast and fruit or biscuits and gravy and fruit, or pancakes with an egg and fruit). I sat with her while she ate it. And made her eat it all. Eating is social for many of us, so if there's some social component, people will eat more. I'd leave her a prepared lunch and she always had a plate of food to pick from for dinner. Mom is now 96+ and weighs a steady 130. I always have deluxe mixed nuts available - right next to her chair, along with ice cream, pie, cookies, mac and cheese, soda pop with sugar...at this point, any calorie is a good calorie. She's still able to live on her own with a LOT of help from me. So don't give up - just work patiently with mom to get her eating a bit more and a bit more.
Good luck.
Still - with Papa's tiny eating patterns to get more "bang" outta the food, I try to feed him the most nutritious meals and snacks. Blueberries & sliced banana in his morning oatmeal. Veggie side dish to his sandwich at lunch. Hot green tea instead of coffee. Fresh fruit and nuts always available for snacks. Hot cocoa and/or popcorn when we watch an afternoon movie. Juice is always organic & readily available. He gets dessert at lunch & dinner - usually fresh fruit (right now its fresh pineapple chunks)...sometimes pie or cake....he's from the depression era and those folks do love their sweets! Pop is having bladder issues, so he tries to limit his liquid intake....so we have multiple small bottles of Gatorade in the frige. He says they give him a boost as well as quench his thirst.
Maybe it's a case of having something tempting for your Mom - what were her favorites? Is she encouraged to eat or drink multiple times a day? Does she have snacks readily at hand? Sometimes I just randomly ask Papa if he'd like popcorn or a serving of pie outta the blue and the answer is usually yes....
Good luck!