It has only been 4 days....he's still adjusting. He is stage 5 of Alzheimer. We are lucky to have him in an Assisted Living place that will deal with some of his memory needs (like turning his tv on for him at night). He's not memory care ready (though I suspect at Stage 6 is when that starts). He wanted more guy friends and like most AL and MC places there only a handful of men. My dad is very ambulatory, no problems walking yet. He's not leaving his apartment to go to any meals (he does eat in his apartment) where I hoped he might meet a guy or two (though I don't see the men down there much at all). He also won't participate in any activities. I was hoping he would get involved even a little so that my sister and I could take a break. Any suggestions? We want to be able to step away but I don't want him sitting in his apartment all day because I fear that could lead to not great behavior and I'd like to keep him in AL as long as we are able. It be great for him to have someone that he gets coffee with and does one activity a day or even goes down for a meal. Any suggestions? He can be very social and loves to make people smile but he is also an introvert. Maybe I'm expecting too much too soon. Would it be worth finding a male care companion that I pay to stop there a few times a week?
My mom didn't have any hobbies and was not very social. We had the same issue until she met a male companion. In the beginning it really upset the mans family that he was spending time with my mom and for some reason he thought we were after his dads money. I had to call the mans family to assure them we were not after his money and that at this stage in life we were lucky that our parents found someone to spend time with. It was all very innocent..they would watch tv and dine together... sometimes hold hands. I would pick them both up and take them for car rides and icecream. I would bring the man to our house for holidays because he did not want to go to his sons...apparentlyt they didn't get along. He became part of the family. This went on for at least 5 years. He passed and my mom declined even more and is now in her third memory care facility. How I wish my mom still had her friend... She is too far along to befriend someone new. Mom is in late stage now...
So I guess my advice is to not limit your expectations to him meeting a male companion. Hope for a nice woman that he can sit with. He is going to have to go to the dining room for a chance encounter to happen. You should join him at a large table of other residents for lunch or coffee to get him comfortable with them. Then hopefully he will begin to join them without you. That's what I did with my mom.