Shifting Mom's Understanding of her Being in AL

MrsAnnabelLee

Hi all,

Mom has now lived in AL for 7 months and overall her adjustment has been great. She's made friends, participates in many activities, loves her room, and is very happy there. The problem is that her understanding of being in AL is to be safe from Covid. She thinks that she moved there temporarily to live in a covid bubble and will leave when it is safe. We kind of expected that understanding to diminish over time (it wasn't the story we gave her, but she came to believe this and it brought her a lot of comfort), but she has held on to that theory very strongly. Last week, my mom received her first dose of the covid vaccine and now she talks more than ever of "this being over" and finally "going home." I think this is exasperated by the fact that they recently had to go on lock down due to a few residents testing positive for Covid, so she isn't as involved in activities as she normally would be. 

I'm interested in any ideas you guys may have in shifting this narrative. I don't aim to convince her that this place is her new permanent home, but would like ideas to kind of reframe things as she potentially becomes agitated that she's not gotten a move out date. 

LaurenB

Whatever scenario you determine is best, make sure that the ALF and the rest of the family is sticking to the same one.