Is it mostly for financial reasons? Should we all work together to make sure elderly get good care in these facilities? I have told my children that should I become abusive to them or uncooperative in their efforts to help me as I age, they are to have me move to a facility because at present, in my right mind, I am convinced they deserve better than that. Would your parents want you to to suffer so much for them. I read a lot of suffering on this site.
Both my grandmother's went into different NH and going to the facility to visit and doing the scheduled family activitiy days was just done and a part of my childhood. Where the NH ideal or nicer than their homes? No, but they were at the point of needing a higher level of care than living at home. The same was true for my DH and his grandmother. So I see the whole living in a NH as a part of the aging process. Not all NH are great or ideal but you have to do your homework to find the right one. Plus you can easily move them from NH to NH once they are on Medicaid, if the first one doesn't work out.
I do think that there is a whole largely unspoken issue of caregivers keeping mom or dad at home and beyond their caregiving abilities because they need mom/dad's SS & other income to live on. It's a terrible situation for all to be in and I really think is much more common that is realized. This is fundamentally a women's issue and the worth of caregiving by family is viewed by the state as given by love with no compensation by & large because it's "women's work". ( LOL with Caphardazz - excluded!).
My mother in law for example, lived in our home for three years, long past the time when she even knew who we were. She became combative after three years, and began sleeping only 2 hours per day in a 24 hour time period. This behavior continued for two months, it was not a passing symptom. She went into a fantastic nursing home. We were no longer able to provide 24/7 care, and the combativeness made it a danger for all of us in our home.
She was happy there, so happy that we felt we had made the wrong decision in keeping her home with us. She lived 5 additional years, and the first three she walked the facility as if she were going to work, the combativeness ceased, and she slept only 2 hours per day. Her last two years were spent completely comatose. We have to admit when we are no longer capable of providing the best care..Personally, I have told my own children should I myself have Alzheimer's one day, to find a nice place for me to live, and come by with candy.
know what you might have to do or the decisions you will have to make until you are in those shoes. I had always told my DH that if It was ever necessary that I would always be there if either of my parents ever needed me to be and that I would bring them to my home for care if it became necessary. When that time came, firstly for my father...he became physically violent and suspicious. It broke my heart that he had to be in a lock down facility and worse yet, that in his mind, I was responsible for doing that to him. But I could not let my mother take that blame in his mind and my mother was no longer safe to be at home alone with him and yes, I asked her. She would willingly have sacrificed herself for him. Two years after he passed away, my mother was diagnosed with age related dementia. Again, I tried to bring mom home but my mom needed to be watched 24 hours a day as she wanders although she is generally happy, I work full time and my husband could not deal with the changes in her (he has his own health issues now, diabetic, depression, neuropathy and high blood pressure). It was not a healthy environment for mom or my DH so we placed her in a memory care unit in a facility an hour away from me. Guilt is a big factor in many peoples decision and to be honest, my guilt factor is high as I would like to have been able to have the privilege of taking care of both of them but it was not possible for me. I wanted to move my mom closer to me when an opening came up but she settled in at this facility, is happy and adjusted in a way that would not be beneficial if I made the decision to move her again because it allows me to visit and do more with and for her. None of us the right to judge anothers decision to do what they feel they have to do in this situation. Be there, listen and try to be supportive. It is not right to add to their guilt in what we all know is already an extremely difficult situation.
She ended up in a 6 person board & care that is amazing -- great food, family are more than welcome all day long, any day, & she is "queen bee" because she doesn't have dementia, just physical issues. The dementia residents have to be well-behaved (for everyone's safety), but I think the 1-3 caregiver ratio prevents a lot of acting out that would happen at a larger "memory care" facility (1-17 ratios were common!)
The main difference is that the residents & caregivers become a family where everyone belongs. Every day my grandmother interacts with at least 7 other people who KNOW her -- residents & caregivers. They laugh & talk at meals, accept each other's limitations & care about each other (it DOES make it hard when someone dies, but better thinking that no one around cares about you).
Weby, I hope you got a very good lawyer. I hope you win. Because once NH runs out of your aunt's money, they will dismiss her from their care. So, where is APS when this happens?
This first nursing home, unfortunately, was a hell-hole of a place. I never saw any sign that anyone paid any attention at all to her. She was just warehoused. They over-diagnosed her, saying it was advanced dementia, when, in fact, it was mild dementia at that time.
It fell on me as the logical choice as primary care-giver at the time. When I announced this intention, her case worker became quite vile to me. She acted, quite frankly, as if I was stealing my aunt's money from them.
They announced that my aunt had advanced dementia (she didn't) and needed to be with them. I pointed out how terrified my aunt was of them, they said that was just her dementia speaking. They even investigated me for criminal connections or activity in an attempt to prove I was unqualified. This failed.
When they finally realized they had no way to keep her, they insisted that it was themselves who should line up all support service for her in-home care, and they needed to keep her another 15 days to accomplish this. I was required to fire everyone I had hired, and dismissed all other services I had lined up. The CNAs the nursing home lined up were almost as qualified as the ones I had hired, and they cost considerably more.
Five years passed, and circumstances necessitated a move. I placed my aunt in a nursing home for two months while I packed, moved, and set up. This time I did better research before picking a place. This place did pay attention to my aunt. Her hair, dentistry, nails and facial hair were attended to. She seemed, if not happy, at least complacent there. She had considerably deteriorated, tho, and I questioned my ability to care for her now. But, I decided to try. If it didn't work out, at least I wanted her someplace closer to my new home.
I met with a rude awakening when I went to pick her up. They would not release her to me. They gave me a list of what they wanted me to accomplish before they would release her. It took a month to accomplish this. When I finally went to pick her up, she was a mess. Although they had taken well care of her when she first arrived, they apparently stopped when they realized I was serious about taking her home. Her hair was long and straggely, as were her nails. Her facial hair had turned into a beard. She was in a wheelchair, and they told me she could no longer walk. Almost all her clothes and personnal property was missing although her name was on everything.
When we arrived at home, to my surprise, I was met by an investigator from the Dept of Elder Abuse. Since no one knew we were here yet, I presume it was the nursing home who called them.
I have had my aunt at the new house now two weeks. She has clamed down considerably, has expressed relief at finally being home. Ater two days at home in a wheelchair, she suddenly got up and walked around. In the nursing home, she would not interact with me and I never saw her interacting with staff. Now we were having conversations. She was delighted to see her cats again. I have no doubt it was a right move to bring her home.
Meanwhile, Elder Abuse has called me and I have been informed it is their choice to take her from me. My lawyer called them, and they told her they have no question of my plans and good intentions, only that they feel my aunt requires too much care, and they don't believe ultimately I can do it.
Meanwhile I AM doing it. The benefits to my aunt are obviously visible.
What's going on? I suspect money. Here are the figures:
The first nursing home (the hell-hole) billed me $1000 a day ($30,000 a month). Nursing homes are expensive, but NONE charges THAT much! The second nursing home charged me $13,000 a month. Also very expense. My aunt has enough resources to last a year there, no more. At home, her expenses are running $5,000 a month. Still expensive, but I can keep her 2 1/2 years at that price. Now here's the kicker! Whatever a nursing home charges private pay, Medicare only pays out one fixed rate: approx $7,000 a month. So, having a private pay client is a real plum for a nursing home!
I am not impressed that nursing homes seem to feel they have a right to claim my aunt's money as their right.
this reading is very helpful and interesting my concern is unite estate and we live in Canada.
would you please helping me with advice.I will be very grateful.thanks very much.
,my mama is 89
now i can tell a funny one on myself. 6 years ago when i started staying with mom i asked her what i should do if i found her in a low blood sugar coma. i told her i might inject her with pancake syrup. she laughed and told me the syrup in the house was sugar free so that wouldnt help much. my mom is pretty brilliant before the dementia worsened.
All I can do is tell you what it means to me in my situation.
First I'd like to say that no one should ever feel guilty for putting a loved one in a nursing home. Often there is no other option. I do think that families who put a loved on in a nursing home need to remain vigilant about the care their family member receives.
My parents put my paternal grandmother in a nursing home after she started running away from her assisted living home. For years they invited her to come and live with them, but she always refused. At one point she and my mother had an argument and my grandmother really laid into my mom. It was from that argument that I found out how nasty my grandmother had been to my mom, my dad and even me (unbeknownst to me at the time) for decades. A lot of hatred spilled forth from my grandmother's mouth that day. I never knew she felt that way. In a way it was good she and my mother had that argument because it alleviated any guilt my parents felt about putting her in a locked facility.
That experience has guided my determination to care for my parents in their home. Without going into a long, winding story my special problems in life, my parents went above and beyond the call of duty with regard to always being there for me, supporting me emotionally and sometimes financially. They bailed me out of ridiculous situations time and time again and made it possible for me to be a good parent to my son. Without them in his early years, I'm almost certain I would have lost custody of him.
After I graduated from college I was hopeful that some day I would earn enough money to treat them to trips, vacations, etc., but I never got a job that paid enough for me to spoil them like I wanted to. So caring for them now is my way of giving back to them. It's that simple.
On a grander level, there's a lot of debate in our nation and internationally about how different cultures treat their elderly. I think everyone can agree that, in the US, we place much more value on youthfulness that we do on the wisdom and grace of growing old. This too motivates me to care for my parents and keep them in their home where they are most comfortable.
It's depressing and stressful to care for elderly, sick parents. I cry several times a day just to get the stress out of me. But it's also rewarding to know I'm doing a good thing. And fortunately I have a good relationship with my parents and neither of them has dementia. They are loving and appreciative and tell me so all the time. So I get a lot of warm fuzzies for what I do. But it's still hard for me to watch my father (my mother is quite healthy at 84 and it's safe to say she has more stamina than me) decline and have so many health problems. He's trapped in a body that failed him a long time ago.
The process of watching a loved one die is sad but it's also gracious.
If I could point to one thing that causes me the most stress about the current situation, it's the lack of assistance provided to my parents by a brother and niece who live not five minutes from them (I live two hours away). That single issue is causing me more grief than I ever imagined it could.
Otherwise, I find caring for my parents rewarding. So that's why I don't want them in a nursing home. In my situation it's not necessary.
As for myself, when I'm old...I don't want to be put in a nursing home. I prefer that my life end on my terms and that includes checking out on my own when the time comes. My family has been made aware of this and although they may not believe me now, they will when the time draws near. I don't want them to suffer.
We all suffer at times for the various people we love. Why not suffer for our parents if appropriate and doable?
But, she had all of her finances in order. She has Medicare, gap insurance and long term health care insurance. It is important for all of us to plan ahead.
Also, Mother has her own mind and is able to feed herself. Maybe that makes a difference, because she would raise a fuss, if the care wasn't good.
I've seen cases where the family just doesn't want to take care of their loved one. Some feel like they're abandoning their loved one if they put them in a facility so they take on the responsibility themselves. Personally, I'm against it unless it is absolutely, positively necessary. In the case of my MIL, I want to be sure we've done everything we can for her before we put her in a home, so I've kinda been fighting it somewhat. But it's gotten to the point where she needs to go. She needs someone to not only watch her, but monitor her blood, vital signs, etc. She's not bathing as often as she should, probably not drinking like she should and I'm already monitoring her medication. My nephew puts the medicine in day and night pillboxes, like a week or two worth, and I give it to her twice a day. She lives by me, so I'm able to do that for her. I also bring her dinner. He buys her food that she can cook in the microwave or she can make herself a sandwich. None of us are qualified to do much more than what we're doing already.
I had planned to take care of her at home for as long as there was a lite in her eye "so to speak". Once she loses the ability to participate in Life is the time for us. She can still feed herself n answer when spoken to. Also these facilities are 25 miles away. If it was in my town where I could get there in a few minutes would be much more desirable. I
But basically after her injury and visit to one of these facilities, It would have to be just around the corner so I could check/visit on her everyday. Because I plain old don't trust them to care for her needs properly especially when if she cannot speak for herself...just like someone sed above they do not have the time to do the one on one care and interaction I believe my mother requires and deserves for $6-9k per month.....no matter who the heck pays the bill, us or the state. I don't wanna bash all facilities but 2 different times n cities both horrible... k.....