oy vey! what a mess work has been the past 2 days. The power was lost at the office yesterday morning. It did not get back on until 1am and then apparently part of our server was fried. Today is payroll processing day, but I'm able to log into our payroll portal from my personal desktop, as well as get my work email via the web, so I am getting it processed.
On the homefront we got 2-3 inches of snow late yesterday afternoon/early eve. Dh decided to wait until this morning to shovel and plow..I'm taking bets on if he plows down the road to young neighbors.....ok, well it appears he did not! Good for him...though I'm sure it's eating him up inside and he's telling himself what a jerk he is. I asked him after he got back inside and he said no, he didn't plow anything past our driveway. and yes, he feels like a bad neighbor.
We are going into the city tomorrow around lunch time. I have decided to get my grocery order from Walmart. There are a few things they have that Albertson's doesn't carry and I want to get stocked back up on those. Plus I decided to do a complete price comparison for my order. Like for like, as much as possible. If it's Walmart store brand I chose Albertson's store brand. The difference was $48. So, definitely worth going back to Walmart, even if the wait time is sometimes longer.
The notable differences were sure huge on a few items. Eggs! Holy moly! An 18 pack of Albertson's store brand eggs was $7.49. Walmart 18 pack was $2.74. Pillsbury crescent rolls. Walmart carries the 2 pack for a total of $5.68. Albertson's doesn't have the 2 pack but buying 2 tubes of crescent rolls would cost $9.98, they are $4.99 per tube. A can of spaghettio's is $2.49 at Albertson's and $1.24 at Walmart. A bag of store brand 1b of mixed frozen veggies is $2.49 at Albertsons and .88 at Walmart.
Plus I save an additional 5% charging it to my Walmart credit card. I was getting an equivalent of 4% back at Albertsons, as I was getting 2% back on the credit card I was using and another 2% from Rakuten (I think it was that, something was giving me 2% more). But, on say $500/mo groceries, it's still $5 more savings at 1%. The only thing I really want at Albertsons is this frozen "herb and butter" salmon I had started getting that we both really really like. Of course Walmart doesn't carry it. So, I'll probably have dh pull in Albertsons so I can quickly run in and get like 4 boxes of it. I can't find anything similar at Walmart.
I see my new Keurig finally shipped yesterday.
Mom's caregiver K has not been there this week (she's usually Sat-Tues) and the new gal she trained has been coming. From what I can see/hear on the camera when I watch the little clips, she is super nice and friendly. Seems very much like K. And apparently mom had another "bathroom accident" during the day yesterday. I won't go into details no one wants to hear, but at least it was not near as bad as before she was wearing depends....but how her brain does not register what is going on is so hard to fathom. But it's very common. I had checked in on the camera mid afternoon and see she's in a nightgown and was like ? Did she put it on herself? I'm sure the new gal (L) got her dressed in the morning. Well, L got back to the facility around 4:30 to start her evening shift so K had her go check on her then (rather than waiting to go after dinner, when she does for her meds) and discovered the bathroom accident, so mom had just took off her depends and pants and put on her nightgown. I sure hope a room is available at the memory care place soon. I just know when I am gone for my 4 1/2 day trip at the end of the month I'm going to be having to deal with stuff 500 miles away.
Ok, I got payroll done, but there's really not much else I can do, since I can't access my work desktop. I think I'll go back to watching the excel spreadsheet youtube tutorial I've been watching. It's like 5 hours. I've learned a couple of short cut tricks so far.
I'm trying to put together a list of questions I'll have for the memory care place, but I'm sure there are things I'm not thinking to ask. I'm still trying to decide what to tell mom about the move when it happens. I really think the only hardest part will be what to do with her during the actual time of getting her stuff over to the new place and set up. That could take a few hours, I'm guessing. I will be hiring movers to come and take the stuff I am moving over (which will probably only be half her stuff, really). I'll probably either have dd just be with her somewhere and me in her current place telling the movers what to take. Then meeting them over there to get it put in her room and then try to get her room set up as much as possible before bringing her over. I'm hoping maybe dd can bring her over and the staff will "take her" for a bit, do an activity or something, while dd and I can get her new room set up. Then after we can leave her, the next day or so dd and I can then get her old apartment cleaned out on our time. We'll just be throwing out stuff or taking stuff to Goodwill. I'll probably be only taking a 1/3rd of all the clothes she has in her closets.
I know it won't really matter what I tell my mom is the reason for the new place, she won't remember and will likely keep asking. But, I'm thinking that I'm just going to tell her that her old place upped the rent a whole bunch so this place is cheaper (HA!, no, it's like more than double) and she will very much agree to that because she has always been about saving money. It will just be easier to keep telling her over and over "this place doesn't cost as much as your old place". My other idea is to just tell her we moved her to this new place so they can help her with her memory. She would also go along with that, too. But, honestly, I'm really only stressing about the actual day of moving, LOL.
I say tell her it is to do with her memory and here can just help so much better. Also, does this place also do activities etc or will you have to ensure she is mentally stimulated somehow? And what is the ration of folks per staff member? (If they do know it) And can you bring in your own people? What if you want K to do a couple times a week? ( that one probably not necessary but maybe you want to know)
ReplyDeleteGreat questions! From what is on their website they do have activities to keep them as engaged as possible, but they do not mingle with the assisted living residents for that or meals. They have their own secure "facility with in a facility". They are supposed to take care of everything (and more) that K is currently doing and for the cost it's going to be per month, I'd better not need to hire more help! LOL. They have nurse(s) on staff as well as do in house doctor visits and do all her laundry.
DeleteGreat! I hope more folks comment with some questions. I hope it goes well and they have space for her soon.
DeleteI think, I would ask them to walk me through a regular day if I was one of the patients. I would also look around to see if there are any visitors leaving the premises on my way out and approach them friendly to ask their opinion too. I think the logistics of the moving day is hard but, I am sure you will figure it out as you always do. Good luck with the visit!
ReplyDeletethat's also a very good question to see what their typical day is like. It's probably very similar to what she has going on now, I'd imagine. The 3 meals (which are about an hour or so in the dining room) with activities in between during the day.
DeleteI'm finding that my older cousin likely will need more care soon- transitioning to assisted living. I told her niece, my second cousin but we grew up together, I am here to support them both. It's a lot of weight I'm sure. I echo the questions about both activities, and additional 1-1 help if needed. I'd want to know that the staff have both memory and geriatric care training.
ReplyDeleteThis is from their website: is uniquely designed for older adults with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Our highly trained team walks with families through the journey of memory loss, offering increasing support as the skills and abilities of your loved one change.
Deleteprovides a loving, nurturing, and safe environment where all residents are treated with dignity and respect. Our specialized Memory Care programs and activities keep residents stimulated and engaged, while delivering the highest quality of life.
and this: Health services staff on-site 24/7 trained in the CARES approach endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Association
I'm going to ask for more info on what the "CARES" approach is.
Are the people highly encouraged, like brought down, to participate in activities, or are the clients left to remember to come down? What i am asking is the activity part wholly voluntary or is it sort of expected they will participate?
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother would removed her clothing, not to be an exhibitionist, just because she could and really did not know what she was doing. She wore shirtdresses, so that is what she had at the facility. In order to stop her from undressing, the put her dresses on backwards so the many buttons were inaccessible to her. She was losing so much weight that the dresses were plenty loose so as not to be uncomfortable. So, does the new facility encourage or suggest a certain type of clothing to facilitate her care?
It seems she did know what was happening since she rid herself of the soiled Depends. Is this pooping sort of like diarrhea and unvoluntary? Or, does she sit/stand and just let go? Maybe you don't know that. Just curious--did she rid herself of the dirty items and clean up or just get rid of dirtiness she was wearing?
I know this is hard for you. It was hard for my mother dealing with my grandmother.
I personally would just tell your mom that you found a place for her that was "all inclusive " and you would no longer have to hire someone to help her. In my personal experience the least amount said is the least confusing or upsetting . She doesn't need to know it is because she needs more care, that would just upset her in the short term.
ReplyDeleteI would ask the memory care place if they would have a small group or one on one activity that she could attend while you are moving her. Possibly even your daughter could be with her for part of the time helping with the transition. Susan R
The Walmart Great Value 18 count eggs here in South Florida are now $8.25. Wish they were $2.74. The cheapest I've been able to find are the Eggland's Best 12 eggs for $2.92 a dozen.
ReplyDeleteI would see how the home did on previous state inspections, as that would address areas of concern. You should be able to find that online. In the time being, your mom might benefit from an additional visit from K and her staff ~ which would also help her adjust to having more staff around helping with ADLs. Would it upset your mom if you were to "pre-stage" her pending move by slowing disposing of some of her things now? Having less to deal with on her actual moving day would be a huge help.
ReplyDelete