The below picture is what the plug in for the back of the Hero medication dispenser looks like (I took this from the online manual). Looks like I'll be able to put some damn tape over that, too (Plan C, jj!)
My mom's other new "thing" she's doing every day now is she calls me and says "I see you called - did we already talk?" She is constantly looking at her cell phone and seeing me (because I'm the one who calls her every day) on her call log and thinks she missed my call. Sometimes we just talked an hour before. Sometimes she calls me the next morning and I tell her it was from the day before and yes, we talked.
I feel like our calls anymore aren't chats to just say hello or to see what activities she's been doing, or tell her what I've been doing. Now it is either me calling to tell her to plug in her machine or take her meds. Or it's her calling me because she doesn't remember talking to me and thinks she missed my call. Or her calling to say the machine won't dispense her pill(s) (usually this is an evening problem) and I tell her she already took it a half hour before.
Gosh, employees sure can be strange. So, this new employee (who was told to get her direct deposit set up) had mobile deposited her check a day before the date of the check. Then she destroyed it. So, our payroll company has to send a replacement check, but in order to help her out so she has funds in her bank, while she's waiting for the replacement check, my sweet boss figured out a way to get her some money instantly into her bank, by using Venmo. Then the girl has the nerve to say "but my paycheck was $87 more, I only got $2000" My sweet boss, said "I had to send you this money out of my personal account!! That's what you get to tide you over until the replacement check comes.". My boss said after her 2nd live paycheck she told her to get her direct deposit set up and girl said "do I have to?" Boss told her yes, live checks are too much chaos. They show up at the office and boss isn't always in the office to get/hand out checks, etc. Then this happens.
And another one, on his way into my boss's office to talk to my boss about someone he supervises that he is having problems with, while my boss is having problems with him! She and I were on the phone discussing his issues (he never turns in his monthly expense reports, except like once a year) and getting him caught up so she said before she even lets him talk about this employee he supervises, she's going to blast him with his own issues LOL. I'm like boy, must be nice not to need that $500+ expense reimbursement every month! Not to mention his wife also works for us, why isn't she hounding him to get those reports in so they can get reimbursed? Weird. Must be really nice to either not need that money every month or be so oblivious to your income/spending that it doesn't matter.
Did I mention mom also threw out the box I put in her closet, that the medication dispenser came in? Sigh....I wanted to keep it, as, at some point, I will need to send it back when she is done using it. It's a fairly large box and I figured she has a bunch of closet space in her large kitchen closet, so rather than storing it at my house, I'd just put it back in the corner of her closet. Nope, next visit it was gone and she threw it away. Honestly, there is absolutely nothing stored in her closet that she even uses now, so I didn't even think she probably even slides the door open ever.
And last evening she UNPLUGGED IT AGAIN!!! What in the hell? (ok that's not what I typed to my half sister, LOL. I texted "what in the absolute F---?". Then I told dd she did it again. DD sent this meme back:
Pretty much sums it up, right?! I calmly said to mom "I'm not sure why you keep unplugging it and I'm not sure what to do about it. She says she doesn't remember doing it, doesn't know why she does it, she doesn't think she unplugged it (ghost?), she thinks she unplugged it because it wasn't dispensing her meds. I said well, it can't dispense if it's not plugged in. This time I told her to look in back of machine and see if unplugged. She said it's plugged in. App was showing me it's not. I said ok, unplug it from back and plug in back in. Then it came back on. Here's my theory as to what might be going on. After her evening pill (around 6pm) she seems often to forget she already took it and tries to take it again. The machine won't let her. Maybe she's unplugging it to try to get it to work? I think last night she thought she got it plugged back in all the way and didn't. Who knows. Next visit I will be armed with some black electrical tape and taping that plug in to the back of the machine!!
Hey, at least it's Friday. And it's the time change weekend.....ugh...so my mom has one of those digital desk calendar/clock things. Tells her the day of the week, time, date and whether it's morning, afternoon or evening. But, it has to manually be changed for the time. I was not planning to go see her this weekend. My plan is next weekend. I think I'm just going to see if she can tough it out a week until I can change it. I also think she really doesn't even pay much attention to it anymore and as much as she looks at her cell phone, she probably uses that for time. And her apartment place has loudspeaker system outside the rooms and announces everything going on, so she probably uses that as her cue's for when it's time to go do stuff. I'm sure it will be a week from hell for me, dealing with that. If worse comes to worse I'll drive in one afternoon after work or take a long lunch to fix it. If nothing else I guess I can have her write a note (she has notepads everywhere) that time is 1 hour earlier and tape it to her clock.
I do not know if this is possible but, could you move the dispenser close to the electrical outlet and tape it to the wall with its back to the wall so, that she cannot easily get to the plug at the back? All I can think is that you need to secure both ends of the power cord so that she will not unplug them. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteunfortunately it's not possible. Her apt has very few outlets and this is the one closest to her kitchen counter and really the only place to set the machine (it's kind of large). I have taped it to the wall, just didn't think of also taping to the back of the machine, but I guess I should have. She has a small kitchen table on the wall on other side of kitchen, but there are no plug ins on that wall at all, otherwise I'd put it on her table. Her bathroom countertop does not have enough space next to the sink.
DeleteI don't know if this has already been suggested or maybe had even happened but, what about your mom living with you? Would it make things easier? That employee sounds like a real winner.. I guess this is what employers deal with nowadays... What a shame...
ReplyDeleteShe lives in a "senior living" apartment. All meals and housekeeping and linen laundry is provided to her. I don't think living here is a good idea. She really needs to keep active (and she does) and social and both her previous doctor and current doctor said keeping active and social is the best thing. And I honestly don't think I could have her living with me. Even after a few days of her here I am so completely worn out.
DeleteI have walked the walk you are on with your mom. It is probably time to strongly consider either a daytime sitter or new living arrangements.
ReplyDeleteyes, it's only going to be a matter of time, I'm sure. I'll get through the holidays and figure out something early next year.
DeleteEmployee issues are tough to resolve if they are not nipped immediately. A suggestion for your boss if possible, create a firm timeline for when expense reports need to be in, and if deadlines are not met, the forfeit the reimbursement. At my last job, we had several staff that waited and waited-basically because they wanted bigger checks and waited until they needed the funds and saw their reimbursements as windfalls. When we put n firm deadline sof not later than two months following the last date of the expenses, and required them to be filed monthly, it changed and was much easier t manage budgets as well. I get really tired of the bad rep middle managers get in memes, etc. as if we are a waste of resources. The amount of time I spend fixing and translating issues that people that report to me, or I report to have by their own creation, is astronomical.
ReplyDeleteshe has tried that, with deadlines, but she is so nice, she always caves in, LOL. He did same thing last year and she said she thought he was staying better caught up and wasn't checking to make sure he submitted. I'm going to put it on my calendar to remind me to see if he's submitting so I can tell her
DeleteI suggest looking sooner rather than later for a memory care facility. They often have wait lists and you could get her on the list. You can always be bumped down the list if she is not ready when a room opens. I also wouldn’t mention your search to her. Having someone come in to give her her morning pill and stopping the evening pill would relieve stress on you. They could also check to be sure she is doing laundry and showering because those will likely be the next issues.
ReplyDeleteLaundry already is an issue, but I have just started doing it when I visit now. At this point, the way she is with even not really liking that the housekeepers come in, it's easier for me to just do her laundry for now. While she's trying to tell me I don't need to do it/or she will do it, I just put it in the basket and head out her door and say "it has to be done and only takes me a minute to load in the washer, I'll be right back!" Other than unplugging the dang dispenser the pills are all under control now and she is getting her doses every day and on time, which is a huge relief to me.
DeleteOver different periods I used to handle education grant reimbursements for colleagues' children and the medical insurance and pension fund at work. We had some people who quibbled over not getting a pizza lunch reimbursed for their kid at school (????) and then others who would try to submit a year's worth of education and/or medical expenses in one go. It drove me bonkers, but as you say, it must be nice not to need that money!
ReplyDeletemy boss is too nice sometimes, but that's why I love her :)
DeleteI think you need to take her cell phone in "for repair" so she gets used to using the landline.
ReplyDeleteI think I need to, too. Wonder if I can manage to do that while she's here visiting Thanksgiving or Christmas....I'm just kind of hoping she loses it (or the charger again) never to be found....haha
DeleteI love the tape solution! If she is happy where she is and likes being social, it seems she needs to stay there for the time being. If she lived with you, how would she see her boyfriend...lol. And, with you, she could easily wander off without your missing her. Wandering could become her next thing.
ReplyDeleteShe is always telling me she really likes it there. They keep her busy throughout the day and she can socialize with so many different people throughout the day. She'd be so bored at my house. I have trouble finding activities for her to do when she stays at my house.
DeleteI am jj (that is when I post from work) so I love plan C. I hope it works out!!!
ReplyDelete