Gas cooker

[RebeccaD]

Hi everyone, hoping someone has some good advice for us as we’re a little stuck at the moment.

My 92 year old grandma is currently awaiting diagnosis, but the GP has said it’s clear she’s got dementia from her symptoms. To give some idea, at her last appointment she didn’t know the day, month, year or where she was. That said, physically she is still very well, she lives alone in an upstairs flat and is able to cook, clean, shop and take care of herself. We know of course this will change, but are wary of taking too much of her independence away as I think this would really impact her.

The biggest concern at the moment is her gas cooker, I’d guess it’s at least 20 years old and requires a match to light it. There’s been 2 occasions in the last year where we’ve visited and smelt gas, to find she’s left a hob ring on. This of course is dangerous, especially as she doesn’t seem to be aware so doesn’t alert anyone.

I’ve been researching new cookers as they all seem to come with a safety feature that shuts off the gas if it isn’t lit/the flame goes out which sounds like it’d solve the situation. However, our worry is if we introduce a new cooker would she get confused and stop cooking?

We’ve brought a few new things to help her out such as a digital clock that shows the day/date etc but she unplugs it and hides it daily. Seems like she’s ok with anything she’s been familiar with but new items she’s just not interested.

The new gas cooker we found would be slightly different (the grill dial is on the front, the dials are very slightly different and there’s an added timer dial) but overall we’ve managed to get one that does look fairly similar.

I had also seen a few other safety devices you can buy but these tend to stop anyone using the cooker at all unless a carer/family member is there which wouldn’t work as she loves to do her own cooking.

Is it worth just getting the new cooker to prevent and serious accidents and hoping she’s ok with using it? Or if anyone has any other suggestions we’re all ears.

Thanks so much

 

[Grannie G]

Hello @RebeccaD Welcome.

The first thing I would do is get the gas cooker disconnected as soon as possible. It`s a dangerous piece of equipment. I would tell your grandmother it has broken down because it is so old. No ifs or buts, she is in danger.

Replacing it is going to be difficult because so many people with dementia are unable to adapt to anything new. This has been shown by her disinterest in her new clock.

I can only suggest a new electric cooker or a safe gas cooker. Your grandmother may not like it but it is safer than her present old gas cooker and an electric one at least can be turned off at the mains.

There are some safety concerns which are non-negotiable and this is one of them.

 

[RebeccaD]

Thanks @Grannie G

I agree, when the second occasion happened recently I’ve spent hours researching to find a cooler/arrange it to be fitted etc so it’s all pretty much ready to be fitted within 24 hours.

The slightly tricky bit is my mum, who’s her main carer, she’s so worried she’ll stop cooking and therefore stop eating, she’s delaying ordering it. We’ve tried to explain to her there’s lots we can do to do help (I’m thinking writing on the cooker with permanent marker making it clearer what dial does what, instructions taped to the worktop she can clearly see) but don’t seem to be getting anywhere.

I suppose actually the main purpose of my message was to check it was the right option. I’ll speak to her again today and hopefully can get somewhere

 

[Jessy82]

Hi Rebecca, can your grandma use a microwave? I would just keep that and not buy another cooker if it were my mum. We had trouble with mum and her gas cooker, she was leaving on, burning pans etc, she even put an electric kettle on the gas hob.

We made the mistake ofbuying an electric cooker that she could never understand, no amount of instructions or red stickers helped. She also started putting pans and dishes in the oven, fire brgade was called when she turned it on and melted everything inside. That's when we switched it off and star using microwave

 

[RebeccaD]

Hey Jessy

Oh gosh that doesn’t sound good. We have said we’d definitely get a gas one as don’t think she’d get on with electric, plus we’re worried with the hob she’d burn herself/other things not realising it was hot - your experiences back that up!

She does have a microwave which she uses, she’s just very traditional with her cooking so she frowns upon microwave meals! I guess because she loves cooking and she’s still capable of doing it well (full roasts are still made bless her) I’m wary of taking it away from her but perhaps in this situation the safety issue far outweighs that side of things.

 

[CAL Y]

Hello @RebeccaD . Please excuse me being blunt but at the age of 92 and with a dementia diagnosis you have to weigh up just how long your grandma will be able to cook.
At her age there is a possibility that the dementia might progress quicker than you think.
It sounds as though she is putting herself and maybe other residents of her flats in danger.
It is very sad to have to think about depriving someone of independence I know and you will have to tread carefully but safety is paramount.

 

[RebeccaD]

Hey @CAL Y

You’re absolutely right (and not blunt!) and the fact it’s a flat definitely makes things scarier.

I’m going to speak to my mum today and say let’s get the current oven disconnected as a starting point.

Thanks all, definitely helped knowing I’m not being overly cautious

 

[jennifer1967]

i think the priority is safety first and if she is leaving the gas on, then even though she likes to cook, she needs to do it safely. there is also the safety of the other downstairs flat to be considered. if she leaves the gas on and it builds up, it could explode even if she puts a light on can spark it off. the resident in the lower flat would be in danger as well and could lose their home as well. you dont have to have microwave meals in a microwave. my husband used to leave our electric cooker on and ive moved tea towels off the hob so there are dangers in both.

 

[RebeccaD]

Thanks @jennifer1967 you're so right.

And very true about the microwave, there’s definitely a lot of options to help with her cooking/eating and that’s a much easier problem to solve than an explosion

 

[My Mum's Daughter]

@RebeccaD my Mum is dangerous in the kitchen as Alzheimer's has robbed her of her sense of smell. It's quite possible that your grandma can't smell the gas which would also mean that she couldn't smell something burning.
The last thing that Mum cooked was a pan of pasta. She put it on the gas then went and sat down and forgot all about it. I found the charcoal and pan in the bin.

 

[RebeccaD]

That could well be what’s happened @My Mum's Daughter as when I went over last week she’d obviously burnt some toast in the grill as the smell was so strong but she didn’t know what we meant, I presumed it was because she’d forgotten about making the toast but makes sense if she’s lost her sense of smell

 

[Scarlet Lady]

This may well be a daft idea, @RebeccaD, but it occurred to me that if the oven is no longer safe for your grandma to use and she doesn’t care for the microwave, a slow cooker may be an answer. Ok, it’s electric and she may struggle with it because it’s unfamiliar, but she’d be able to cook many of the meals she might previously have done in the oven, such as casseroles, etc.
Because of the way the food cooks, the risk of burning, fire, etc is much reduced. I admit it’s a long time since I used one myself, so others may point out all sorts of risks I’m not seeing. I agree you need to get rid of ‘cooking with gas’, though.
I understand your mum’s concern about making sure your gran remains as independent as possible , especially in day to day living, but the sad fact is that regardless of any present dangers, the time will come when she won’t be able to do these things anyway, and that time may be closer than you think.

 

[jennifer1967]

slow cookers cook very slowly. the only thing is if they run dry and she forgets to put water in in the first place. other than that maybe solution

 

[Wildwoodflower]

Hi Rebecca,
I feel that it's moment like this when the degree of change become so clear that there really isn't a solution that will allow things to go back to how they were. However, there's a chance that for once the changes your grandma is undergoing may work for the greater good.
My mum is 91. I came back to care for her and we've just bought a new home together that's big enough for the two of us. Waiting to move in, we were in a rental for a few weeks which had an induction hob - and it solved the gas-left-on nightmare, which had happened twice at her old house, at a stroke.
She looked at the new hob and oven, decided that they were so complicated she couldn't be bothered and hasn't tried to cook since. This is a massive relief.
Meanwhile, I scrapped my plans for a gas hob at the new place and have got an induction hob instead.
Now all I have to do is find taps that turn themselves off or are covered in LEDs and look far too complicated for her to turn on and leave running!

 

[RebeccaD]

Great shout with the slow cooker, I think we may even need to invest in a toaster as she uses the grill normally but hopefully with things like that being fairly simple we may be ok. We can also make sure we’re there the first few times she uses anything new.

And good point @Wildwoodflower I think there’s definitely a temptation to try and hold onto life as it was, when actually we need to accept lots is changing. I think this is what my mum is struggling with the most but there’s so much support out there.

The good news is we’ve had a chat and she’s agreed we’ll get the oven removed this week.

 

[Jaded'n'faded]

The gas cooker must be made safe/unusable.

Rather than buy a replacement, I'd give it a little while to let your gran come to terms with the fact it no longer works. What she does - or doesn't do - will give you more idea of her coping abilities. You can certainly point her in the direction of the microwave, which she does already use, if not for much cooking, so it's familiar to her. You could help by maybe showing her a few things that cook really well in the microwave to tempt her to use it more.

Having said that, my mother blew up a couple of new microwaves so this may not be the best solution! (Though the explosions were probably far less serious than a gas explosion... I can't believe I am even saying this!)

But really, I don't think you're going to find a fix for this problem. If you buy her a new cooker or manage to supervise her with the old one, she'll still struggle with any sort of cooking because that's what happens. As dementia progresses, the whole business of preparing a meal, choosing the right ingredients, determining how to cook each one and the appropriate cooking times, etc, it all becomes too much. Some people manage for a while if they can do simple ready meals in the microwave (and if they like such things) but sooner or later you're going to have to make different arrangements for her meals.

 

[jennifer1967]

not sure if a toaster is a good idea if she is tempted to put a knife in to retrieve the bread thats got stuck with the toaster plugged in or putting others things in there that shouldnt be in there. its trying to work out the risk of each thing and deciding if how to lower the risk or whether its worth the risk.

 

[silkiest]

Hi @RebeccaD, going back to your first post you tried a digital clock that she unplugged. We had the same problem with MIL as she unplugs everything. You can buy plug socket covers that fit behind the plate and come over the plugs in place and lock it so plugs cannot be removed. They have been a lifesaver as MIL cannot now unplug the internet or Alexa so family abroad can still see and talk to her.

 

[Joanie1947]

I would suggest the cooker is disconnected and some really nice quality microwave ready meals are purchased. Maybe have a wee dinner party as an introduction,Gas can be so dangerous.Kind thoughts

 

[Rosettastone57]

There will come a point where the only way to resolve this is supervision of cooking or someone else preparing meals. As others have said, persons with dementia struggle to learn anything new and eventually the ability to plan and prepare food is lost.