My mom got sick and was about to be thrown out of her condo. I let her come to stay with me under the agreement that she would go to assisted living when the situation was too much, and she agreed. That was all a lie, she never had any intention to go to an assisted living.
It has been 4 years and now my life is a blur. I take care of my mom, but she needs more help than I am able to give her. My health has gone down the drain. She does have dementia and it's getting worse.
My mom physically attacked me on my birthday, and I can't do this anymore. Where can I turn so that I can get her into a nursing home?
I don't know what to do. Who do I talk to?
i do have one important question for you, when your mother physically attacked you, why did you not call 911??? Did she leave any physical marks on you anywhere? Please, for your own safety and sanity, document everything she does, ie. screaming, scratching you, hitting you,etc. take a video of her doing these things on your phone, if you do call 911, tell EMS that she’s having a psychotic break or whatever and that you need her to be seen by a dr at hospital who deals with dementia patients. If they tell you she will be released to go back home, talk to discharge social worker or nurse and tell them there is no one to take care of her. Do not let them bully you with promises of all this help,etc, because that won’t happen.
please take time to look around on this forum and your eyes will hopefully be opened as to what demented elders can and will do. Welcome to the forum and please take care of you first! Liz
If so with the diagnosis of dementia YOU can place her in Memory Care. Do not put her in Assisted Living with dementia Memory Care is a better option.
If you are responsible she can not refuse to go. YOU are the one that gets to make that decision that where she lives is a healthier, safer place.
If you do not have the legal ability to do this the next time she threatens you or harms you in any way you call 911 (or whatever EMS service you have) and tell the dispatcher that transport is needed to the hospital. You are being threatened and you are afraid you or a family member will be harmed or that your mother will harm herself.
Once at the hospital talk to the hospital Social Worker and tell them that she can not be discharged back to your home, you are unable to safely care for her.
Or take her to the hospital and inform them that she has become dangerously psychotic. Then, just leave her there.
Have a camera and film her abuse and inform the police she is violent and you fear for your life. It is your place and you have the right to evict her if nessesary.
1a. You wrote (* see asterisk below) that your mom’s bank wants the condo back, I assume for non-payment. An attorney can guide you as to whether or not your mom should just sign the papers over to the bank, or if that would screw up her hopes for being placed on Medicaid.
1b. An attorney may counsel you to not just hand the condo over to the bank, but to sell it and use the funds to pay for your mom’s placement in memory care, or in whatever care level she needs.
1c. If the condo hasn’t been lived in for four years, and has been empty, it could have by now become unliveable and almost-unsellable, example if hard water has fused the faucets, etc… In that case, handing the condo back to the bank might be wisest.
1d. You absolutely must have professional guidance on what to do about the condo so it will do least harm to placing your mother in a home of some sort.
2a. Alternatively, maybe you should just take the easiest way out for yourself, move your mom back into her condo and let her harass her elderly neighbors until they again call the authorities, who have already threatened to remove her from her condo. Let the authorities remove her and find a place for her.
2b. Whatever you do, refuse to be involved when the authorities try to strong-arm you into taking her back into your own home and your own care. You would have to stay strong, and wash your hands of her completely and let the state take over, but it sounds like that’s the point you’re at anyway.
I send you my sympathies for the tough situation you’re in.
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* here is your reply to JoAnn29 that I refer to: “She owned her condo but she went knocking on people's door from 12-1 in the morning asking the residents about weird things. These residents were elderly. They called an agency on her and told me if I don't step in they will have her removed from her home. She doesn't want to go back to her condo. The bank wants the condo back. I did everything I could and now I am drowning.”
You have to decide that you are done. Never ask the incompetent when they are ready. They will never be ready.
Call nursing homes and set up visits. Without mom. Find one you like. Ask them to walk u thru the process.
They will help you transfer her or have ideas how to get her in there.
I stayed with a woman that was new to the facility. Her mom paid for a carer to watch over her, over night, so she didn't try to escape. It was a locked facility, but it was just in case. She cursed me something awful. I went out in the hall and sat in a chair and didn't interact. It was very abusive. But she was mad she was there. Tried her best to get me to interact so she could curse me some more. Can't blame her. They should have helped with anxiety meds. I found someone who got a nurse and they gave her something to calm her so she could sleep. I'm so glad.
Good luck.
Please take a moment to calm down and think about all your options. You could look into a in home care. There are programs that can help financially. We have one here called IRIS. But every state has programs that offer assistance. Check out what programs are available.
My mom lives with me; and I know that I am only going to be able to provide care here at home for maybe another year as long as things go at this rate. But if her level of care drops much more or goes faster downhill, maybe less than a year. I'm exhausted, isolated, depressed and ready to be on my own again, hopefully go back to work, which is not an option right now.
So I really understand where the OP is coming from.