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Disable the car. Take the car battery out of the car.
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Reply to brandee
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My wife wants to drive every day and taking her keys was very difficult. We tell her that the her neurologist is responsible. I do not want to be responsible for her injuring or killing someone, so taking the keys is an easy decision. Several persons tell you about taking the car away which is great if it is their car. My wife is still at home and we both have used the car, so we've developed "stories" and hide the keys. The "home" where she wants to go is being remodeled. Electricity is off..there is no AC. Work is closed. It is a holiday. Try to be in his mind, twenty or thirty years ago. When my wife takes her keys to go, I kiss her goodbye. I give her a hug and say, "if the remodeling is a problem or AC is out she is welcome back here. I love you." She tries all keys on her key ring and comes back in the house. When she does, I welcome her back.
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Reply to MikeinTexas
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I was kind of luck my wife would get the house cleaner/friend to drive her. However before I took the keys she backed into my truck parked in the driveway. Taking driving privileges away is hard. It is more a mental
thing for the one who has to come to grips of not driving.
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Reply to Sample
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I was terrified to take moms car keys away, but she had Lewy body dementia, and it was necessary. At the time we had my brother disable the car, but she called a mechanic to the house luckily, he called me, and I explained the situation to him and asked him to tell her that the part had to be ordered and wouldn't come in for a few weeks. Mom was a delivery driver most her life and driving was her thing. Mom has been gone now for 10 years and I always questioned that. The thing that makes me okay with that decision is that I know her, and she would never want to hurt anyone.....so we kept her from that.
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Reply to Bubba12345
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Take the damn car keys away then. Do your duty by your wife, sir. Your spouse with dementia has no right to endanger my life or anyone else's because she still allowed to get behind the wheel.

Let her complain. Let her rant, rave, cry, and throw tantrums. Ignore her. Cope with it any way you can just don't let her drive.
If she becomes too much for you to handle, put her in a care facility.

You should try hiring some homecare first though. Get her a companion who will take her out and do the driving. It will give you a break and will be good for your wife too.
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Reply to BurntCaregiver
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pad52142: Perhaps your wife requires managed care facility living.
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Reply to Llamalover47
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This may seem drastic, but it what I am considering. Divorce.

Dh has moderate cognitive impairment, dr. says he is still okay to drive, I disagree but don't have a leg to stand on until dr. agrees. (I am hoping his heart issues take him before the dementia does.) If dh won't give up his license, I'll be seeing a lawyer. That in itself might be enough to cause him to surrender his license.
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Reply to graygrammie
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Daughterof1930 Jul 10, 2024
I’d be wondering if hubby’s doctor is still competent!
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Buy the book "The 36-Hour Day" by Mace and Rabins (preferably the Fifth Edition) as soon as you can. You've got lots to learn. It's basically my Bible now.

"Coping with your wife" is your new full time job. Prepare yourself.
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Reply to Dawn88
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You either deal with your wife's dementia at home yourself, hire in home caregivers to relieve you, or you place her in a Memory Care Assisted Living residence and visit her there.
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Reply to lealonnie1
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Either you drive her everywhere she needs to go or hire someone to do it. There are people who work as companions to the elderly and sick. Hire a woman who will become like a paid friend to her. Then you’re off the hook.
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Reply to Fawnby
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Since you have not really given any info here is what I can offer.
1. Accept that you are now going to have to take your wife where she wants to go, where you want to go. Taking her car keys is a wise thing. Make sure that she can not get hold of them. If she had her own car get rid of it so that she will not see it and want to drive.

2. Get yourselves to an Elder Care Attorney. Get all the paperwork that you need done done. POA, for both Health and Finances. Make sure that you will be able to make decisions for her when she can't. Set up a "Special Needs Trust" that will protect her if something happens to you. Have End of Life decisions written down and make sure that they are signed by the people that need them to be signed. (depending on her level of dementia all this should be easy, if it has progressed there may be more problems so do all this ASAP)

3. Start now and get her involved in an Adult Day Program if there is one near you. Or if there is a Senior Center where she can get involved in activities. (if this is early stage you might be able to drop her off for an hour or two at a Senior Center and she will be fine)

4. Start and get a caregiver to come in and help you. If you begin early she will get used to having help. You can start by introducing the caregiver as a "friend from church or the "garden club". (if you might be resistant to having someone come in get over it, you are going to need help)

5. If you do not think you will be able to care for her begin looking for Memory Care facilities that will be able to meet her care needs.
If you do think you will be able to care for her begin making changes to your house to accommodate her decline. (remove carpet, put down water proof or water resistant flooring. re do bathroom so that at least 1 has a zero entrance shower (much easier for a walker, shower wheelchair or a Hoyer Lift.)

6. Do things now that you have wanted to do. If you wait it will get more difficult if not impossible to do things like travel.
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Reply to Grandma1954
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fluffy1966 Jul 14, 2024
A very good Primer, Grandma 1954, on the preliminary steps to take/accept/enact, while getting a grasp on the enormous task ahead.
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What part of this change are you having trouble coping with? The increase in your need to do all the errands? Her anger over losing this privilege?

With my 95-yr old Mom, her primary doctor is the one who ordered a driving assessment through the OT department of our clinic. She failed and the OT then had a discussion with her about what this meant (the failure is noted in her medical record, which will go to her primary doctor). The her primary doctor was obligated to report it to our Dept of Public Safety. This Dept sent my Mom a letter telling her that her license has been cancelled. Now when she threatens to drive I remind her that it wasn't my decision, but that of both the doctor, OT and state -- and that she'll get into legal trouble if she so much as leaves the driveway and will pay a hefty fine when ticketed. So far this has worked. I'm trying to get her to be the one to say she is ready to sell the car -- and I've told her I want her to retain her dignity and not force me to force her to do it. So far, it's going better than I imagined.

Make others the "bad guys" and say it's out of your control. But if she still acts like she wants to drive then yes you will need to control the keys.
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Reply to Geaton777
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If your wife has any of the dementias, then yes she can no longer drive and you'll either have to disable her car in some way, sell it, or take her keys away.
Will she like it?? Probably not, but you must now do what is best to not only keep your wife safe but also all the innocent people on the roadways.
Someone driving with dementia, is NO different than someone driving drunk or high on drugs, and if your wife were to get in an accident and severely injure or even kill someone, and it was discovered that she has dementia, you and your wife could be sued and possibly lose everything you have.
Is that really worth it? Of course not.
There are many of us on this forum that have had to take our loved ones keys away, and we're still here to talk about it.
You're going to be ok and you'll feel much better after you do take her keys away, because you'll know that you'll be keeping everyone safe on the roadways including your wife.
There is nothing easy when dealing with a loved one with dementia, and this is just one of the many things that will need to be addressed.
Please make sure that you're educating yourself about this horrific disease as that will better prepare you for what lies ahead.
God bless you as you take this very difficult journey with your wife.
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Reply to funkygrandma59
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MACinCT Jul 10, 2024
Rather than disabling, buy a steering wheel lock
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Pad, sounds like you need to learn more about dementia, and also you need to start planning for the future.

Sounds like you got some desions to make. Are you planning on keeping your wife home? Are you learning about dementia?

If your frustrated that your wife can't drive, your about to get even more frustrated when she can't do the many things she does now.

Do you have your home set for things like a safe shower, or when she starts wondering, getting into things

I'm sorry about your wife. This is a long road
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Reply to Anxietynacy
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If someone appropriate said to take W’s car keys, that’s what you do. What do you mean, ‘how do I cope’? More information, please.
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Reply to MargaretMcKen
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