Caring for Grandma
Good morning. I'm new here. My wife's grandmother is in mid stages of Alzheimer's and is at home. Grandpa is her primary caretaker and does not want to move her to a memory care facility. He also doesn't allow much help. My wife and I go over every couple of weeks to wash grandma's hair and try to get her into a change of clothes. She is mostly cooperative, but some days are better than others.
Grandpa is having surgery and will be in the hospital 3-5 days. My wife and mother in law are staying at Grandma's home to care for her while he is away and I am coming in the late afternoon to give them a break once I am done with work. Grandma does not do well with Grandpa gone for more than about 30 mins. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to help her through the anxiety of him not being home. Also any activities for keeping her entertained would be great. She does not like to watch tv and has a hard time with tasks like washing dishes or basic chores.
Thank you for listening and for any help you can give.
Sincerely - a loving granddaughter in law
Comments
-
Not sure how she'd respond, but we would do little "spa day" kind of things for my MIL. Wash and style her hair and clip her nails and put on polish. They were things she needed, but she also had always enjoyed a mani-pedi, so she'd giggle and laugh with us while we pretended to be at a salon.
3 -
A post has been deleted from this conversation. Please be mindful of our Community Guidelines for participation in ALZConnected.
0 -
What about asking her doctor for something to calm her while he's gone? Sometimes music works. What songs or musicals did she like when she was young? Here's a list that may help: https://www.alz.org/help-support/resources/kids-teens/50-activities
1 -
This actually worked great. We’ve listened to a lot of Doris day
2
Commonly Used Abbreviations
DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
Read more
Categories
- All Categories
- 469 Living With Alzheimer's or Dementia
- 237 I Am Living With Alzheimer's or Other Dementia
- 232 I Am Living With Younger Onset Alzheimer's
- 14K Supporting Someone Living with Dementia
- 5.2K I Am a Caregiver (General Topics)
- 6.8K Caring For a Spouse or Partner
- 1.8K Caring for a Parent
- 156 Caring Long Distance
- 104 Supporting Those Who Have Lost Someone
- 11 Discusiones en Español
- 2 Vivir con Alzheimer u Otra Demencia
- 1 Vivo con Alzheimer u Otra Demencia
- 1 Vivo con Alzheimer de Inicio Más Joven
- 9 Prestación de Cuidado
- 2 Soy Cuidador (Temas Generales)
- 6 Cuidar de un Padre
- 22 ALZConnected Resources
- View Discussions For People Living with Dementia
- View Discussions for Caregivers
- Discusiones en Español
- Browse All Discussions
- Dementia Resources
- 6 Account Assistance
- 16 Help