Hello all
Mum is 69 and was diagosed at the start of this year with vascular dementia, and some element of alzheimers as well.
In the last 4 months mum has been relatively stable at home. Carers come in for an average of 2.5 hours a day, 6 days a week. I go in 5 days a week as well. Previous to that we had a difficult period of care home respite, followed by a nightmare 9 days of live-in care!
I will do everything in my power to keep mum in her own home for as long as is feasibly possible....she is independent, insular and feels comfortable in her home. She has gotten to know the two main visiting carers, trusts them and enjoys their company.
The problem is that she doesn't recognise herself in the mirror or in window reflections etc. To her there is another person constantly in the mirror / windows / microwave door reflection....anything that has a reflection actually! I have tried endlessly to explain and prove that she's looking at her own reflection but I fear her brain is now beyond the capability to truly grasp this. I stand in front of the mirror with her, put my hand on her shoulder so that she can see its obviously her that she is seeing. But it just doesn't work. She can not digest this logic.
I am so worried that this issue alone will bring about the need for a care home placement sooner rather than later.
I have removed some mirrors but mum thinks this will 'upset the person' and make things worse.
Has anyone got any ideas?...I can of course remove all mirrors, but this will not solve the glass issue.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm not willing to give this up. Every day, week and month of mum living in her own home is a massive bonus for the whole family.
I took my 1 year old daughter to see mum today and she had a great day - great to see her smile so much!
Thanks for taking the time to read
Martin
Mum is 69 and was diagosed at the start of this year with vascular dementia, and some element of alzheimers as well.
In the last 4 months mum has been relatively stable at home. Carers come in for an average of 2.5 hours a day, 6 days a week. I go in 5 days a week as well. Previous to that we had a difficult period of care home respite, followed by a nightmare 9 days of live-in care!
I will do everything in my power to keep mum in her own home for as long as is feasibly possible....she is independent, insular and feels comfortable in her home. She has gotten to know the two main visiting carers, trusts them and enjoys their company.
The problem is that she doesn't recognise herself in the mirror or in window reflections etc. To her there is another person constantly in the mirror / windows / microwave door reflection....anything that has a reflection actually! I have tried endlessly to explain and prove that she's looking at her own reflection but I fear her brain is now beyond the capability to truly grasp this. I stand in front of the mirror with her, put my hand on her shoulder so that she can see its obviously her that she is seeing. But it just doesn't work. She can not digest this logic.
I am so worried that this issue alone will bring about the need for a care home placement sooner rather than later.
I have removed some mirrors but mum thinks this will 'upset the person' and make things worse.
Has anyone got any ideas?...I can of course remove all mirrors, but this will not solve the glass issue.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm not willing to give this up. Every day, week and month of mum living in her own home is a massive bonus for the whole family.
I took my 1 year old daughter to see mum today and she had a great day - great to see her smile so much!
Thanks for taking the time to read
Martin