I'm almost dreading the answers I'm assuming I'll get on this question but, my mom has been a tv addict for as long as I can remember. Lately, her ability to navigate the television has been unmanageable. We even bought her a simplified remote with only five buttons (Volum +/-, Channel +/-, Mute, Off/On). Problem is, she flips through the channels aimlessly until she's up around channel 900 which is all the pay-per-view. Then the screen prompting a code to purchase the movie pops up and she's stuck. Our cable provider doesn't have an option to hide channels. So, now one of us is constantly going in there to reset her onto one of her shows. But she only watches for a little while and then starts up with channel surfing again. The only thing that seems to work is to take the remote away for awhile and leave her watch whatever's on the station we've set it to. But that makes her angry (I get it, it's not a very dignified way to be treated). I also think she's messing with the buttons on the television itself. Woke up this morning and the tv was set to antenna. It's impossible to do that with the remote she has access too. She must've gotten up and pressed the buttons on the bottom of the smart tv. But she denies touching it. Quite honestly, this tv issue was one of the driving forces in our decision to start the process to admit her to memory care. My husband works from home full time and he's flat out said that he can't continue going into her room every hour to help her with the tv but when he doesn't help her, she sulks, pouts and throws a fit. Did any of you ever give up and simply take all remotes away?
I know with my former mil, my son was able with her remote and smart TV, limit the channels she can access.
Man I really feel for you. Honestly if I couldn’t set up a favorites list and get her to stick that screen, I would hide all the dang remotes! This is in no way comparable but I have very little patience when it comes to the TV, my son likes a particular children’s show on Nickelodeon and for someone Comcast ALWAYS requires the parental control PIN before he can watch the show. He knows how to use the “on demand” feature to watch the show whenever he wants & this means I’ve got to enter the pin! After about the 2nd time having to stop what I am doing to go enter the pin, I AM DONE. I won’t enter it again, it’s time to go out and play or something!
Over a year ago you wrote that your mother is on a waiting list for a nursing home. Is she still?
Her living with you has negatively affected your health and your family.
Your mother's MD made a comment that really annoyed me, and I'm wondering if it annoyed you, too. The dr. said that having you late-in-life made it very difficult, because your mother needs a retired daughter. So she just assumed that daughters must become their parents' caregivers? You are an only child, so perhaps they would have said that to a son, as well.
I noticed that attitude with the medical professionals. Since I brought my mother to medical appointments, the assumption was that *I* would do the required follow-up care. They also often assumed that we lived together.
One particularly telling incident was after my mother had her gallbladder drain inserted a year ago. I was brought in after she had the procedure done (in interventional radiology), and instructed as to how to change the bag. "I'm not doing the hands-on care," I clearly said. I think my mother almost expected it, too, and I said, "I did that once, and it didn't work out." I told them my mother lived alone. The nurse persisted, and said, "But you have to know what to do if your mother calls you in the middle of the night because her bag broke." Again, I said, "I won't be taking care of that." And then she tried to show me how to put the special belt on that would hold the bag to make walking easier.
Turns out, my mother never did go home. She went from 17 days in the hospital to rehab in a NH which became her permanent placement.
If your mother is hospitalized, that would be your chance to have your mother jump the waiting list to get into long-term care. Is this your plan?