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She has dementia and is always hungry. She can eat her dinner, put plate in sink and go sit down in front room and ask when are we going to eat I am hungry. She has lost some weight (the whole house is doing keto). I find that if I can keep sugar away from her it seems to help with her memory. My family is over 1,200 miles away from here and have not seen her for over 5 years. Will not come down to see her and will not take her for a few weeks if I bring her up for a visit. Just want to talk to her on the phone and think that there is nothing wrong with her it is just me that has the problem. I have been reported at least 8 times to the cops and social workers for mistreating and abusing her and investigated with the end results of NO I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!! I AM SO I TIRED OF THIS TREATMENT FROM THEM. I have blocked the phone calls. Is there anything else that I can do? It seems rather harsh to cut off the call from mom to her son but what else can I do? The last time it upset her so much. The cops showed up at 10 pm and woke her up and she was up half the night worrying about it and what she did to them to call the cops on her.

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This is what I would do.

I would contact Adult Protective Services in your state and let them know about your family's repeated "false reports" of abuse. Invite them to come and visit your mom to see that she is being cared for well. Report to them how upset your mother becomes when APS or the police visit as a result of these false reports.

In short, THEY are abusing your mother, but blocking your mother from calling her son or him from calling her is not acceptable and THAT could land you in hot water.

Does your mother have an official diagnosis of dementia from her doctor? Have you sent the documentation of that to her other children with a professional assessment of her care needs? YOu can get a "needs assessment" from your local Area Agency on Aging. They will put in writing what your mother's needs are so that it won't simply be you telling the other kids what mom needs.
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AlvaDeer Aug 2020
What a good idea.
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The only thing I can add to the great replies, is to double check with her doctor if a Keto diet is appropriate for Mum. If her doctor says it is ok, she is getting the appropriate nutrition, then ask for that in writing.

You mention that Mum has lost weight, did she need to lose weight? My Mum is 86 and I would be concerned if she lost weight.

You cannot change your brother's behaviour.
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AlvaDeer Aug 2020
She does say below that she passed diet past doc and he approves and is happy with the weight loss, as she needed to lose weight. She has already sent pictures.
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Not sure if Social Services as such handles abuse cases in the elderly. They usually handle Welfare and Medicaid besides other programs that help those in need. The police can be called to make "well visits" and call in APS or the Health dept to handle the case. As Barb suggested, call Adult Protection Services and tell them your problem. They can come out and investigate. May even work in your favor because there may be resources available for Mom u didn't know about. Ask for a report and send it to all the people who keep reporting you. I would also ask her doctor if he could write a letter saying Mom has Dementia and because of that, can no longer make informed decisions or give accurate information. I agree, you may not be able to block brother from talking to Mom.

You may want to say to all these people "If u think you can do a better job, then come get her". I bet they back down really quickly. Its easy to judge when you aren't there. People who have not experienced Dementia/ALZ have no idea. In their minds its a little old lady sitting in a rocking chair staring at the wall. Not that little old lady who is like a toddler and her reality is in her mind which is all screwed up.

With her food. Keep meals small and allow her to snack. Like for breakfast, give her the cereal and juice but the toast an hour later. Because of the Dementia she does not remember eating and/or her brain can no longer tell her she is full. Just curious, has her doctor Okd this diet for her?

Just read Geaton's post. Log worked for her but in my opinion, its none of their business. And personally I didn't have the time or the energy to do something like this. I give Geaton a lot of credit. If they are so worried about Mom, then they can come and visit and see first hand. Yes, I kept my brothers in the loop. Mom in the hospital, Mom in rehab. Any changes in Moms health. But I did not report what I did for her every hour of the day. To be honest, I didn't have the energy. If asked, I told them. Maybe u can do a weekly email. "Mom doing as well as expected with her Dementia. Did take her to the doctors. He sees no change in her mentally, blah, blah, blah."
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"It seems rather harsh to cut off the call from mom to her son..."

What do you mean?

Social workers are perfectly capable of understanding that a person with dementia will not have an accurate recollection of what they have eaten or when. That's not the issue, it seems.

Preventing your mother from communicating with her family, even if she does talk twaddle to them, is called isolation, and it is a form of abuse. That's what they're investigating. Don't do it.

You may well be right that a low sugar diet is good for your mother's memory, but do not simply impose your food choices on her. If you want to adapt her diet to improve her health - and good for you for trying - do it sympathetically and in line with her preferences.

Who exactly is included in this distant family, and how might you set about improving communication with these people? Because that's the answer. You don't have to like them but if you want them to understand the realities of your mother's situation you will have to talk to them about it.
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AlvaDeer Aug 2020
I agree that there should be no cutting off of an elder's calls to and from relatives. That is entirely inappropriate. If the family doesn't understand, as you say, Countrymouse, that the elder won't always get it right, then explain that gently. And let them call whomever they like.
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Hmmmm. If your brother is extorting money from you mom, I would certainly have a conversation with APS about that.
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You've gotten a lot of good advice.  My first thought is that the family are (a) creating distractions to avoid addressing their own failure to provide support, (b) are enjoying playing the bully and manipulating you, in part b/c of their nonparticipation.

I would think that most normal people would feel guilt for not helping a sibling care for an older parent, and that may be the source of their persistent redirection.    Rather than face their own failures and inability or refusal to help, they redirect your attention and responses so that YOU are put in the position of defending yourself, when THEY should be defending their lack of support.

They're persistent perhaps b/c it keeps you off balance, not knowing when they're going to strike again.

I don't really have any suggestions other than a visit to an attorney who can notify them of the consequences of false accusations (libel, slander).   And do document their calls and other harassing activities, not just to defend yourself against false reports, but in the event that you do need to take legal action.

I think the dynamics of these kinds of manipulations go well beyond my understanding, but what I might do is tell them that if they have CONSTRUCTIVE suggestions and WHEN they're willing to help, you'll be glad to give them lists of actions they can take to provide support (which thus far they've with held.)   

In fact, you might try that - send them a list of everything that they could be doing to help, and shift the burden to them to justify their lack of action.   When they don't respond, follow up (in writing) to inquire when they plan to begin participating in support.

The "put your money where you mouth is" and either "put up or shut up" philosophies are I think appropriate in this situation.
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Pasa18 Aug 2020
GA, yes people defend their lack of support by distractions. Another dimension to caregiving is the dysfunction of family support.
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I would file an injuction of harassment and block all contact.

This is nothing but harassment and that he is taking the money she needs to live on tells you a whole lot about your brother.

I don't normally think interfering with a relationship is a good idea, but this is just wrong and I would have my brother explaining himself in front of a judge.

You should make sure that he doesn't have access to her bank account.
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I agree with other comments that blocking people just gives your siblings reason to think you are covering something up. Transparency is the best offense against their suspicions. Here is what I did when I was the primary decision-maker and caregiver for my MIL (and wanted to make sure the other sibs/spouses never had reason to question what I was doing on her behalf):

Keep a digital diary (start to compose an email that you will send at the end of the day). Doesn't need to be very detailed, just a "log" of activity, actions, decisions, events. I.e.

Aug 12, 2020
- got mom up; morning hygiene routine
- served her healthy breakfast (list details if this is an area of contention)
- took her to doc appt (dermatologist); checked skin issues; no treatment required
- lunch
- laundry
- played cards
- paid her bills (mortgage; cable; utiities, medical)

...you get the idea. Then send a group email to all your siblings (and spouses if you think necessary). Do this every day whether they "want" the report or not. Doing this 1) lets them know what is involved in caregiving, 2) keeps everyone on the same page and gives them opportunities for constructive input or to ask questions, 3) prevents them from ever saying, "I didn't know..." or "Why did you do that..."

Your emails should be very "clinical", meaning no extraneous commentary or emotional comments -- just the facts. Make it brief and easy to read. Don't expect any responses. My in-laws were very happy to get these reports and we never had any issues. They were astonished at the amount of time it took to care for 2 seniors and how difficult even the smallest outing was. If they were concerned about a decision I had made I pointed them back to a prior email that they were sent. This way the burden is on THEM. I wish you all the best as you try to do you best for your mom!
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AlvaDeer Aug 2020
I so agree with diaries. Composition book with no tear outs and in ink with corrections being crossouts. As a nurse I kept them. When I was POA and Trustee for my bro I kept them. Once, as a nurse it was a bit of a lifesaver, saving a case from going to court. They are invaluable in so many ways. What a great idea!
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Why is your brother so suspicious about your activities? Is this a financial issue, or something?
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MTFishbabe Aug 2020
They only money she has is her SS and my fathers pension. There is no money other than that. After paying all her bills and getting her medical needs there is nothing left at the end of the month. Once when I went to the store he called her and went to the bank and had her approve the bank to give him money so he could make his house payment. It left me short on taking care of her for the month.
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Unless there is more going on here than you have told us, I don't know, if at this point, I would feel particularly compelled to tell my wayward family anything.

You say they have called the authorities at least 8 times. So clearly they don't trust you. But they don't seem to not trust you enough to volunteer to come and take mom off your hands.

I would not engage anymore; but I would not cut mom off from them, or vice versa, either. If she doesn't want to talk to them, let her tell them that, dementia notwithstanding.

Since food seems to be an issue here, I would expressly ask her doctor (s) if the Keto diet is appropriate for an 82 year old woman, You say she has lost weight - is it a healthy weight loss, or weight she really couldn't afford to lose? You can reduce her sugar by other ways besides the Keto diet, if you find reducing sugar her helped stabilize her memory loss.

If family asks you questions, and you wish to answer them, then do so - but only answer the question asked, Don't feel obligated to expand. But sometimes silence can be your friend.

Good luck.
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notgoodenough Aug 2020
Sorry, didn't see the passage about her weight loss. In that case, I wouldn't even respond about her eating habits to anyone but her doctors!
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