I found out that it's gonna be a few more weeks before Grandma can come live with me. Apparently the director of the ALF didn't receive the notice in the mail about taking Grandma out of there (yeah, sure). This time it was sent certified mail. The family will be following up tomorrow to make sure it was received.
Is it a legal thing about her medications or a financial thing (does the ALF want to make sure they don't lose money on her room?). I don't see what the problem is. She's allowed to go for day visits, so I don't know why she couldn't come "visit" for a month. I thought I'd check here before asking the director.
By the way, it would be impossible for me to bring Grandma home everyday for a few hours. It's just too much, you know? I think it would be too emotionially hard for her anyway.
I'm talking about travel time and distance being a problem, it's not like I live next door.
Grandma's quite capable of taking care of herself. She can be left alone for several hours. She's only there because Grandpa needed to be there, but he's not with us anymore so she doesn't need to be there. I have plenty of experience with caregiving, Grandma is a piece of cake.
I can't see why Grandma can't move out before those 30 days but she would be required to pay for those days within the 30 days notice.
How old is your Grandma? Depending on her age and health issues, I see she had mobility problems per your profile, things can change in a blink of an eye.
I remember back when my parents were in their late 80's and early 90's still walking 2 miles a day for exercise, doing yard work, living on their own. But I noticed with each new birthday, it was like my parents had aged 10 years in that one year. Before I knew it, both were walking with canes and those 2 miles walks stopped.
Lot of good advice was given by other writers... re-read what Sunnygirl had written. With mobility issues it is highly important to have grab bars in place in the bathrooms, bed rails so that Grandma can get out of bed on her own, getting Grandma to use a rolling walker to help her get around without falling. Falling is THE big thing with mobility issues. One fall can turn one's life upside down quickly.
And make sure Grandma is able to be around people of her own generation, as she wouldn't understand your generation of music or movies, or how to use a Smartphone.... thus make sure your home still has landlines with regular telephones.
Many seniors over estimate what they can do. Once you really see the help they need, you might be surprised. At that point, you have to explain that the assistance they need is too great and then they may feel bad. She may likely not have the mobility to handle her own hygiene needs. So there is that to deal with.
It's a lot to consider. I'd have my backup, because it's not easy to have people just pop in to help with this kind of thing. There are liability issues and people don't want to injure themselves lifting a senior. I hope things work out well for you all. Please post back with your experiences.