Hi all,
First time posting here but just looking for any advice that may be out there, sorry for the long post.
My mum was diagnosed at 57 yrs old with vascular dementia/Alzheimer's. Her husband of 20 years left her and she had to leave her home of 20 years, she then moved into assisted living where she started to get her life back on track, she had been a heavy alcoholic for at least 30 years and managed to overcome this with help from me and her very good friend she met at the assisted living place. For the last 5 years her dementia had been managed well with activities with her friend, I would take mum out couple times a week for lunch and trips down memory lane, even though she would have very low moments she was happy when we would reminisce to her favourite songs and drive down the same old roads that were her memories, same places every week but she was happy and settled.
October last year mum took too many paracetamol and was admitted to hospital when the assisted living home said they couldn't allow mum to go back as she was too much of a risk. Mum then stayed in hospital while they tried to find her a short term bed, Christmas eve last year they found one but it was a residential care home where mum can not leave. I have not been able to visit her either since then due to covid. This has been incredibly difficult not doing our routine trips every week but, I managed to stay in contact through her mobile, listening to her memories, easing her confusion about her condition and replying to her many question through text every day, just reassuring her and listening to her seemed to calm her down.
I had a call from the care home last week saying they had to take mums mobile away as she was making calls to the emergency services, i think she did this because she was scared and didn't know where she was at the time. It has been so difficult to not be receiving the streams of texts and calls from her every day and not being able to reassure her. I talked to her mobile network provider to see if we could somehow block the emergency service calls from her phone, but they said its not possible.
I just wondered if anyone has had a similar situation and if there is a way that somehow she can have a phone at the care home but not be able to ring 999? She lives for her phone,, sometimes mum has real low moments when she will say things like how she doesn't want to be here anymore, times like these is when i would be able to talk her out of the low mood which i can no longer do as often as is needed. She would also constantly ring/text me every day, also would talk to her friend from the assisted living place who also could reassure mum and is missing being able to talk her as regularly. I did manage to speak to her at the care home yesterday, she cried and asked if her memory damage was permanent and how much she missed us and just wanted her phone, i was heart broken. I am scared mums condition will deteriorate quickly whilst not having contact with people she love, i am scared when i do finally get to see her she may not remember me.
Is there a phone out there for people like mum without the option of calling emergency services?
I have gone on a bit so for that I apologise, however I do feel a small weight has been lifted having written this down.
Thanks for taking the time to read...
