Helping my mom move more...

CeraSue

Hi. I am brand new to this group. I would love to chat and get ideas with my mom. I just moved in with her yesterday. She just got out of the hospital and was told someone needs to be with her most of the day. She sits in her recliner with her warm blanket and wont get up for HOURS. She says no, she is cozy, I don't want to move, etc.
I know better than to argue with her. I have tried various things to say: you will end back up in the hospital, I'm going to call someone else to come help (she doesn't like anyone in her home) etc.
I'm stuck. I want to be the daughter more so than the caregiver. But I will do ANYTHING for my mom.
We lost my dad in 2017 so depression doesn't help. I know most of the time this is not my mom. She is stage 4 maybe 5 of Alzheimer.
Any Thoughts? Thanks a bunch

M1

Welcome to the forum. This is a hard situation. How much to encourage her to get up vs. let her be—what was she hospitalized for? Is there a possibility that you could have a physical therapist come to your home for a period of time? You might call the hospital discharge planners and see if they would order PT—she may not be able to completely comply, but she may be eligible for a period after discharge. Otherwise my general instincts would be to not fight it and just go with the flow. Apathy and loss of executive function are pretty standard for this level of dementia, she's not going to ber able to initiate much or follow through.

Others will chime in. You have come to a good place for advice and support. You may need to think hard about what you have undertaken my moving in with her: she needs a full-time caregiver at this point, and it's a daunting job to undertake. Hope you have power of attorney, etc. taken care of—if not, it needs to be done right away.

psg712

PT is a good idea, if you can get her primary doctor to order it. I have found that my mom is more compliant with the therapist's instructions than with mine!

That said, Medicare won't pay for indefinite therapy. I'm just glad now when I can get mom to take a walk around the facility with me.