Over time her dementia got worse, which meant that when she went out for a walk she started forgetting how to get back. Other residents would sometimes bring her back, or she would eventually find her own way, but the situation was getting dangerous.
One evening a passerby found her, very tired, confused, and completely lost, heading into the nearby woods.
She was considered an emergency placement, but finding a locked nursing home that was affordable and had room wasn’t easy, so she sat on the emergency list for a month waiting for something to become available.
Actually, there was one place that she probably could have moved to. Months earlier my mom had a bad fall and as a result, she had been sent to a rehab residence for a couple of months. It had secure units, lovely private rooms equipped with big-screen TVs, and lots of comfy chairs. Even better, her admission there was all but assured. Lovely place, except that sometimes beauty really is skin deep. My mom was parked in front of the TV all day and the staff seemed disinterested at best and rude at worst. Not one of them even hinted that they loved their job. No surprize then that my mom was upset the entire time she was there. No – she was not going there.
So that place was off the list, but there were lots of others to chose from. I picked out several facilities I thought would be suitable – all newer, close to my home, and offering private rooms. I applied to them all, and waited.
Waiting was hard. I lived in fear of a phone call telling me my mom was lost, or worse, because of her wandering. Yet, when a locked facility finally came up, I hesitated. The nursing home that was available was not on my list; Extendicare Starwood was far from my home, older, and my mom would have to share a room.