Question:
> What about parenting our parents/grandparents? > My grandma who is strong, energetic, independent, very mobile fell > recently had to have 4 stitches in her head.
Do you mean "is" or "was" (notwithstanding the Clinton definition : )). If she’s declining it may be time to start thinking of alternatives. But otherwise I wouldn’t push her. > I took my digital camera to a couple of nearby residence homes and took > my own pictures and then built an album in this software I got from > gazomania.com. I even took some pictures of some of the residents and > wrote there comments in the album. It wasn’t a total waste of time, I > dragged my laptop over to her house and she liked looking at those > pictures knowing I took them myself.
Not a bad idea to try to get her involved. > interested. She said next week she might visit one with me and take a > look. But its going to take more than a photo album to turn her head > around. I could use some help.
This makes me think that she has at least *some* interest otherwise she’d be arguing up a storm about it. Perhaps you (or she) have the money to retire to a really nice residential facility, of which there are many. She’d have her own apartment, kitchen, etc, lots of activities, new friends. The more independent she feels, the better. Wendy
Response:
>What about parenting our parents/grandparents? >My grandma who is strong, energetic, independent, very mobile fell >recently had to have 4 stitches in her head. Its time to at least start >thinking about moving into an elder care facility, or into some type of >assisted living situation. It is so hard to talk to her about changing >her situation so that she is safe and cared for. I gave her a stack of >brochures from some of the local residences. But last time I went to her >house I found them all in the trash. She says all the pictures are fake >to make it look homey and safe. UGHH. I am sure there is someone out >there that can give me some idea of what to do. Does anyone know a better >way to approach this?
Are you her only relative? Is there any way at all that she could live with you or another relative? Perhaps even in a garage apt at one of your homes, or a basement apt? Perhaps hire a nurse or someone to look after her during the day…or someone to check in on her periodically throughout the day? If she doesn’t want to go into a care facility, I don’t think you should try to force her. JMO Josie
Response:
> What about parenting our parents/grandparents? > My grandma who is strong, energetic, independent, very mobile fell > recently had to have 4 stitches in her head. Its time to at least start > thinking about moving into an elder care facility, or into some type of > assisted living situation
From what you say I find it very doubtful that your grandmother is anywhere near needing an assisted living facility. If she is "strong", "very mobile" and has her wits about her what is the reason to need to live somewhere else? I find a lot of folks these days are just a little too quick to think that their elders need to live someplace other than their own home. So, is there something you didn’t share with us that is the *real* reason why you think she needs to live in an assisted living facility? Is she suffering from CHF, nearly sets the house on fire frequently due to memory problems? – Aula
Response:
What about parenting our parents/grandparents? My grandma who is strong, energetic, independent, very mobile fell recently had to have 4 stitches in her head. Its time to at least start thinking about moving into an elder care facility, or into some type of assisted living situation. It is so hard to talk to her about changing her situation so that she is safe and cared for. I gave her a stack of brochures from some of the local residences. But last time I went to her house I found them all in the trash. She says all the pictures are fake to make it look homey and safe. UGHH. I am sure there is someone out there that can give me some idea of what to do. Does anyone know a better way to approach this? I took my digital camera to a couple of nearby residence homes and took my own pictures and then built an album in this software I got from gazomania.com. I even took some pictures of some of the residents and wrote there comments in the album. It wasn’t a total waste of time, I dragged my laptop over to her house and she liked looking at those pictures knowing I took them myself. Even her neighbor who was there got interested. She said next week she might visit one with me and take a look. But its going to take more than a photo album to turn her head around. I could use some help. Mandy
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