I have had dad who is 87 in AL for almost 12 months and he still won't pull the cord for help from the nurses. He calls us all hours of the morning and sometimes it's like 15x a day. He also get insulin and they wrote down the times that he gets it and he goes down there at least 1.5 hours early and when the last one comes he calls us right after he eats dinner and asks when do I get the last one? We got him a digital watch because he was having a hard time reading a regular watch. If we don't answer the mobile phone he will then call the house phone.
Your poor poppa - it isn't that he won't follow the right instructions for getting help, it's that he can't. The frustration for caregivers before this key point really sinks in is beyond a joke, and please don't think I don't totally sympathise. But even though you have made it easy for him, even though the cord is visible and within reach and everybody tells him every single time what to do, he *cannot* learn this process. Not won't. Can't. It's a new chain of thought, and his brain can't handle it - so he reverts every time to the chain he already knows, and calls you.
The ALF will keep him safe and well cared for, including making sure he gets the right insulin doses. So the only real answer to the remaining problem, that he constantly calls you for help, is to turn off your mobiles and change your landline number.
Sorry.
Let us know how it works out.
DianaHollis, I would talk to her pain doctor and get those meds on a schedule, the roller coaster of pain can cause a whole host of unpleasant side effects for dear mom.
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