My mom is having trouble getting up in the morning. She sleeps too late and then misses her meals. I tried using the assisted services to get her up but she says she doesn't want any help, She sleeps to noon and then complains about not being able to fall asleep. Once she starts missing her meals she gets weak and stubborn. Last month she ended up in the hospital and once she ate and drank regularly, she was fine again.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to wake her remotely? She is hard of hearing and not tech savy. I cannot go over to wake her for her appointments and meal each day. I am at a breaking point and don't know what to do.
She is in Senior apartment with assisted services available, but it costs $500 (package price for first level services) and she only needs to be waken up in the morning.
You can also program a special message. For instance, my Mom would constantly leave her phone off the hook and forget to return it. So I would program the Echo - "Mom, your phone is off the hook. Put your phone back on the hook!" This was a Godsend for me, as well as the remote cameras (I used Wyze brand). I can't recommend them enough for convenience and peace of mind - and neither item is expensive nor hard to hook up. Best of luck!
Get a "needs" assessment from the local Area Agency on Aging. Make sure you are there to guarantee the accuracy of what they are being told.
As an aside, there are shake and wake alarms for deaf people. They vibrate the bed.
Your mother is nearly 90 years old. It's time for you to tell her that she is getting the assisted services available at the *bargain* price of $500 per month because she needs to get up, do her morning toilette, eat her breakfast, and be ready for what her day holds. If she needs a mid-afternoon nap keep it to about 30-minutes.
She needs the assisted services to avoid landing in the hospital again. Hospitals at her age are especially dangerous. Have you heard about hospital-acquired infections?
But also recognize that your mother is nearly 90 years old and, at that age, her body may be slowing down, which is natural. Support her by making sure that she accepts the assisted services she deserves.
When we were going through this with my in-laws we played up the "this is peace of mind for all of us" angle. It took several conversations and us being a "peace of mind" broken record but we got it done.
Does she drink coffee or anything with stimulants to keep her awake at night?
Does she have heavy meals at night?
Does she snack at night before bedtime?
Is there some way you can get a package of turkey for her to nibble on before bedtime? Turkey contains tryptophan and helps to induce sleep.
Is she taking any evening medicines that cause her to sleep more? Or be physically fatigued?
Also, Beatty's 2 questions are equally relevant.
See All Answers