Mom doesn't comprehend her disease

Hi and welcome to 'here', but sorry for the reason.

We usually don't try to reason or explain things with our LO. They won't 'get it'. Best case is to tell her that her house is being worked on and she will be in this new place for a while. You could tell her there has been a burst pipe, perhaps, and there has to be quite the clean-up…

You didn't put her into the care center, this horrid disease did. She most likely has anosognosia. This is not denial, but rather, the firm belief that nothing is wrong. This is her reality. We learn to go with the flow.

We hear you - MIL was a crafter, and my mom was accomplished on the piano. I HATE that alz took these gifts away from both of them, although mom could still play well into stage 6, and even beginning stage 7. She had learned to play when she was very young, but now we are further into stage 7.

Sorry you are dealing with 'this'.

As others have said, educating her in the traditional sense is not viable owing to the disease. It’s awful but true.

My LO—now in MC—has been comforted by the presence of familiar furniture, a quilt made by an aunt, pictures of old times (in a digital frame). We talk about these things a lot. Other people at the MCF look at handicraft magazines or do simple art projects with family or staff. None of this stops the questions about going “home,” but over time I have begun to see that “home” means a lot of places and feelings.

Instead of aiming at her understanding, you might aim at distraction: doing something together, telling funny stories of the past, talking about what you’ll do or who will visit in the next few days, etc.

Having said this, I also know that this is very difficult and the disease is relentless. Please remind yourself that the placement was the right choice and your mom is safe. That is an extremely important baseline.