On Caregiving

[CellarDweller]

When left to their own devices, personal  care/hygene and even nutrition will go out the window.

I remember before my grandmother was in the facility, we went to visit her at home, and found very little food in the refridgerator, it was all food grandpa liked.

Grandma had been buying herself popcicles, and that's what she was sustaining  hersef on, claimed  it was all she wanted.

Mom went out and got some real food for grandma, and also got some popcicles that had more "substance" to them.  She got ones made of pudding so that gram would get some diary into her, and some made with real fruit, so she'd get  the nutrition in  her from the fruit.

[Front-Ranger]

Oftentimes I forget to check in mom's fridge when I visit her. This time I remembered and I found some soup that had mold growing on the top of it and a strange-looking tupperware full of some unfamiliar stuff. Mom said they were "pickled peanuts" and that I had given them to her. I had no idea that pickled peanuts are a real thing and have never eaten any, much less given some to Mom. What probably happened is that another resident got some, couldn't eat them or didn't like them, and gave them to Mom. That kind of thing happens all the time.

[Jeff Wrangler]

I think I'm going to tell my dad to get a grab bar installed in the bathroom, and that he should let me know how much it costs, and I'll write him a check, and that will be his birthday present this year.

[CellarDweller]

Not a bad idea.

[Front-Ranger]

Mom has a grab bar in her bathroom that also functions as a towel holder. She claims it is too slippery and the towel has a tendency to fall on the floor. Always bothering me to have it replaced and I understand she also nags the maintenance man about it too.

When my brother was visiting, mom asked him to buy her a new toilet. She claims this toilet is too low, she wants a higher one that is easier to sit down on and get up from.

Also, she put a sign on her door asking whomever to replace the hand shower thingy in her bathroom with one that has a longer hose.

She also thinks it takes too long for the water to heat up so she can take a shower, so she'd like the water heater replaced with a more powerful one.

Other than that, the bathroom's perfect! Now, on to the rest of the place...

[Jeff Wrangler]

When my brother was visiting, mom asked him to buy her a new toilet. She claims this toilet is too low, she wants a higher one that is easier to sit down on and get up from.

You can buy devices that raise the seat of an existing toilet without having to replace the entire toilet--an expensive and inconvenient proposition, to be sure. My maternal grandparents had one of those things years ago.

[CellarDweller]

Other than that, the bathroom's perfect!

[serious crayons]

Mom has a grab bar in her bathroom that also functions as a towel holder. She claims it is too slippery and the towel has a tendency to fall on the floor. Always bothering me to have it replaced and I understand she also nags the maintenance man about it too.

When my brother was visiting, mom asked him to buy her a new toilet. She claims this toilet is too low, she wants a higher one that is easier to sit down on and get up from.

Also, she put a sign on her door asking whomever to replace the hand shower thingy in her bathroom with one that has a longer hose.

She also thinks it takes too long for the water to heat up so she can take a shower, so she'd like the water heater replaced with a more powerful one.

Other than that, the bathroom's perfect! Now, on to the rest of the place...

Could you step in and ask the management whether it's possible to get them replaced? If they say yes, then you can expect it to be done. If not, then you can tell your mom to stop bugging them and deal with the annoying feng shui, or if it seems like a real problem you can figure out a different solution.

If she's living in a place designed for older people, they really should have those things figured out or be ready to fix them. If the toilet really is low your mom probably isn't the only one who has problems with it.

You can buy devices that raise the seat of an existing toilet without having to replace the entire toilet--an expensive and inconvenient proposition, to be sure. My maternal grandparents had one of those things years ago.

Yup. You can buy them at Target, I think. A few years ago I was on vacation with a group of friends who went horseback riding and two of us were thrown by our horses. One of them was me, but I was only bruised. The other broke her pelvis and was taken off the trail on a stretcher. She spent the rest of the vacation in a chair on the porch of our cabin. We had to help her to the bathroom. She had problems with the height of the toilet seat, so we bought one of those toilet-elevating gizmos at either a Target or somewhere similar.

[CellarDweller]

[Front-Ranger]

I'm glad I didn't post about this on my blog, where I'd have to endure looking at pictures of toilet accessories! But thanks for doing some research on it...now I have no excuse but to get this potty business done! I don't for a second think this will put an end to the complaints though. I can just hear her now asking for a heated toilet seat with padding and a backrest, and a gold plated flush lever, no less!!