Mom's sister is in short-term rehab at Mom's skilled nursing facility. Auntie helps Mom with conversation and getting her to activities. Otherwise, Mom would sit in her room all day and get more depressed. Mom wants badly to go home, but her Alzheimer's and other medical issues prevent her from returning. How do I explain to Mom that Auntie got to go home, but she has to stay? Mom also thinks she should be able to go back home and gets upset when we tell her that it is her new home.
She isn’t able to think rationally about her current situation, yet she does realize that these changes in her life make her incredibly sad.
She may or may not accept her situation in the future, so do whatever you can to comfort her now in the best way possible. Continue to reassure her that she is where she needs to be at this point in her life.
Did you go through difficult times with your brother when he was in a facility? Did he ever express that he wanted to go back home or did he adjust fairly well?
Dementia robs people of their reason and logic and empathy, so there is no point in trying to explain, and reexplain things to her. Give her whatever explanation will keep her calm in the moment.