Hello, friends. I posted last week that we recently moved my elderly mom into our home & are starting to suspect she has dementia, though she has NOT been diagnosed as such. Well, today she forgot I was working from home & made a few calls to family thinking she had the house to herself. What she had to say about me was disgusting and shocking. She has accused me of: Taking her wallet and using her credit cards for our own personal spending; Taking her checkbook and refusing to let her see any of her finances or access her own money; Planning a party for her at our house so we can use her money to purchase new patio furniture and landscaping (we've done both, but not with her money). She told my aunt (who entertained this entire conversation) that she thought we asked her to move in so she'd be with us, but all we've done since she got here is spend, spend, spend. Well, yes, that's true. We're repairing her house to put it up for sale. I know - friends tell me this is normal with dementia patients. But my mother hasn't been diagnosed with dementia yet! When we last spoke to our estate attorney about managing the sale of the house and the financial/legal stuff the one thing he said was despite me having durable POA, I need to be very careful how I manage everything until she has a dementia diagnosis on her medical record because until then, she's legally considered competent and if she ever starts making accusations, those could get a real legal hassle for me (not that I'd be legally in trouble, but that it could take a court to straighten it out...at my expense). My mother has always been very accusatory and restrictive with me towards anything of hers (she was never a mom that shared well with her kids). She started to default on her creditors and they started calling me because she wouldn't take their calls. Then she finally agreed to let me take over her finances and I was SO HAPPY when she signed the durable POA for me because I thought she had finally gotten over her distrust of me and I'd be able to help her. But now she's calling relatives when she thinks I'm not home and making these accusations? I spent a fortune to move her out here and get our house prepared for her. I can't afford any legal trouble. Even if it turns out to be nothing. Has anyone else been through this?
Having her there will continue the drama and stress and will be damaging to you, your marriage and child. You need to rethink this and get her moved out, wherever is best suited for her. Spend your energies on that. As the months and years go on, things are not going to ever get better...they get worse. This is not a healthy situation.
Get her diagnosed, get her moved and learn to set boundaries that are healthy. Best to you. It’s tough but doable and necessary.
PS...you do not have to explain yourself to other family members and create more drama and antagonism. It’s not healthy.
Scout, hope you'll come back and tell us what progress you're making!
she will live around 7 years ..that is what happen to mine she was told on may ??? 2011 that she had it so make sure credit card is paid up to discover is trying to hassle me that she owes i think 2,990.00 on her account well the only thing she has that is in her name is her car ..the only thing that is good on that is it does not have 29 thous yet just 28 ..but rats got into it & messed it up & it is not worth it if i get it then i can clean it up by the time they get it .it will have no air in a tire ..the house is in my name not hers & i got money from her life insurance so screw them
Not to make you more upset, but have you realized that you only know about what she says/thinks now because she’s right there in your house, but she was probably talking about you...and about all those cousins, aunts, etc., before? (Which I actually find funny, the “defenders” were probably being talked about too!)
It’s all coming from an ill mind. I don’t know, nor care, if it’s dementia or any of the many other suitable mental illnesses. The only relevance of a dementia diagnosis is the memory care facility. So you only need the diagnosis for that, but aside from that practical reason, please realize your mom has always been ill (based on your description), and she CANNOT change, only maybe improve some with medication, but seems to me that she is the way she is, period.
I think you need to mentally and emotionally accept this, and once accepted, design a way to care for her, as your mom, that is manageable for you.
While you wait, could you consider renting an small very affordable apartment nearby for her and have help come to assist her, using her funds.. I’d even use mine if it was for peace of mind!
Or do you have siblings that could help?
OR! Call that cousin and tell her that your mom really would like to move in with her, and she can also be the POA! Not the assistant POA! Give her a promotion!!
See, what hasn’t been considered here is that it is very unfortunate and sad that you’re not being able to help your mom with love and care anymore, which was your purpose, I’m assuming, moving her with you. And please don’t think I don’t FULLY understand how you feel Scout.
You are hurt, upset and would prefer not to have to even see her..let alone bathe her, or dress her or feed her, right? I understand your reasons completely, but I can also see how what you intended and the reason why you made all this sacrifice to move her with you is simply NOT happening.
That is the bottom line, no matter why. So, I would change ASAP a situation that is making you resent your mom and taking you away from the role of the daughter you wanted to be for her. Does that make sense? I’m not ignoring how horrible it feels that your mom talks like that about you, but, honestly Scout it almost loses importance in the big picture. The big picture is what you wanted for her, out of your love for your mom, and what you need for your family.
About the relatives, every family is different and has unique dynamics, but if I were you, I would NOT bother at all and whatsoever explaining myself to them or correcting what your mom is saying, unless they brought it up.
Seriously, who cares? All you do by allowing them to “judge” your mom’s and your situation is to create unnecessary more drama! What that can turn into is: your mom calls them, then you call them to correct, THEN they call your mom and tell her what you said, then your mom tells them some more made up stuff about you and starts really resenting you...(phew! Got tired even imagining this!)..until finally you will have it and have a huge argument with your mom that will hurt both of your feelings...unnecessarily!
Your energy I think should be spent on what is worth it, and all that craziness with your relatives is absolutely not worth it. But, your mom, her relationship with you, your peace of mind, your daughter and your husband ARE.
And this is not meant to antagonize you at all, but I’m sure you have no problem balancing your mom’s checkbook and handling her credit cards, but make sure you’re also up for the task of managing a person that is emotionally and mentally not well, YET who you love and for whom you want the best! 💜
Wish you wisdom, patience and luck!!
Get a place for her, NOT IN YOUR HOME. Your "Home" is your marriage, your family and your some time work place, your safe place. You keep her there, all that is gone. TRUST ME! My mother is like putting your hand in a garbage disposal, High speed pain and will cut you quick to the bone. Have her initial every check you write in her behalf. Therefore she saw it and approved it.
This is her, its not you. Take advice from another liar, thief, 2 faced, mentally ill, "only child for a reason" daughter. Her hobby is to ruin you, her happiness is ruining your name. Get that space between you, It wont stop her from doing it, it will stop you from feeding into it and becoming it. My mom was bitter since I can remember, and she has had decades of practice. You know all this inside, go with your gut.
Please quickly get her out of your home. She will pit you against your husband and get others to believe her lies. Even with a broken brain, they can only become a worse version of their original selves, selfish, demanding and mean. I hope her diagnosis and legal stuff is resolved in a short matter of time and you can get her somewhere safe but away from you! I would remove your house landline phone (to save money ; ) ) and get a mobile phone with your home number to intercept all her calls and then you can monitor who she calls to protect yourself. Blessings and hugs!
Shecwould call all our relatives and tell them how awful I was. They would write letters and, because Mom could no longer read, I would have to read the letter to her. It would talk about how it was do sad that I had turned out so badly and steal everything from her. It broke my heart tobknow my relatives thouht that of me.
It would be good to somehow document what she is doing and find an advocate to help you get that documentation, especially if you have any sibling who might cause you trouble in future. Also, if you haven't already done so, now is the time to get medical directives, such as dnr and medical poa, and find out about whether she has a pre-plan arrangement or adequate life insurance. Later can be too late sometimes.
Fueled in part by Grandma's lies, about the others. Claiming, this one took her stuff, that one took her money, or the other one yelled at her, or claiming one or the other trash talking the otheres.
You can imagine the terribly bad feelings this all produced. And in those days, there was no one to tell them to beware of this kind of dementia behaviors. As a result , my mother and my beloved aunts were so angry at each other, that they barely spoke at grandma's funeral, and never spoke to each other for the next ten years. It was an extremely sad time. How we all came out of that is an even longer story, but had a happy ending. As much as possible, considering three of the aunts followed in their mother's Alzheimer's footsteps. (And the fourth died early of cigarette related diseases.) All that is stated to say this: Do not underestimate the damage this kind of thing can do to your lives. And clearly not just as it related to legal matters. Definitely talk to the lawyer now. But definitly talk to your family. The more open you all can be with each other. the better off you'll be.