My mother's obsessing about an imagined wheelchair

[Didi504]

My mother is 95 and in good health, in a residential care home and has dementia. This is manageable as it usually just forgetting things we have told her recently. She remembers the past. Our problem is that she is obsessing over a wheelchair!
She has one in her room that was used by my father before he died but it is only used occasionally for hospital appointments etc. She uses a triwalker the rest of the time. She thinks she has another 'light weight wheelchair' but that someone has taken it away! (she has never had another). She is getting more and more distressed about this and we don't know how to cope with it. Do we keep saying that there was never another chair or do we say something like it's been disposed of as was not needed? I'd be glad of any advise.

 

[lin1]

My mother is 95 and in good health, in a residential care home and has dementia. This is manageable as it usually just forgetting things we have told her recently. She remembers the past. Our problem is that she is obsessing over a wheelchair!
She has one in her room that was used by my father before he died but it is only used occasionally for hospital appointments etc. She uses a triwalker the rest of the time. She thinks she has another 'light weight wheelchair' but that someone has taken it away! (she has never had another). She is getting more and more distressed about this and we don't know how to cope with it. Do we keep saying that there was never another chair or do we say something like it's been disposed of as was not needed? I'd be glad of any advise.

Hi I'd be inclined to say something like it's being repaired and it will be back in a few days.

 

[Canadian Joanne]

Perhaps you can say it was put into storage as your mother doesn't need it right now. Would it be possible to put the actual wheelchair somewhere she can't see it? I think it might be a trigger for her and hopefully, out of sight, out of mind.

 

[fizzie]

I agree with the repairers - my Ma used to occasionally obsess about one thing and I always made up a decent quality excuse and so she calmed down but I have to warn that something else may follow!! It may just be that they used something to transport her one day and she liked it and assumed it was hers or some similar trigger. I agree to put the other one out of sight but be prepared that may make her more anxious and it might need to be returned - she is not going to believe that both have gone to be repaired lol
Good luck xx