Today, my mother taught my 98-year-old great-uncle to knock on the wall if he needs us. He can't remember who we are, but every hour he can remember to knock to ask, "Is it breakfast yet?" FML
Collection
Halloween
A failed costume, stolen candy and a very real scare: Halloween, the one night when fear is allowed.
Today, I got a knock on my door at 3 a.m. Turns out, if I ignore my mother long enough, she will assume I have died and will call the cops. FML
Today, after an exhausting weekend of work, I decided to take a nap. I was awoken several hours later by my mother-in-law knocking on my door. Apparently my 11-year-old called up grandma to complain that she was hungry and that mum was sleeping instead of cooking dinner. FML
Today, I was woken up by my elderly neighbor banging on my door at 2am. She needed "urgent" assistance as she had forgotten how to turn her TV off. I'd just fallen asleep. FML
Today, I finally taught my mom how to text message people. Now I get a message from her every 30 seconds saying "Hi". FML
Today, I received a phone call from my 91-year-old grandpa. He was lost driving somewhere in my town. I then spent the next few hours trying to teach him how to send his location until his phone died. FML
Today, I finally convinced my grandpa to try a smartphone. After an hour of teaching him how to text, he announced he'd figured it out on his own. The first message he ever sent was meant for me. It went to his pharmacist instead and simply read, "Love you. Thanks for everything." FML
Today, my elderly dad learned how to use Facebook. He now spends most of his time messaging me about his meals, his bowel movements and his foot fungus. He's now learning how to use Skype. FML
Today, at my grandmother's funeral, my senile grandfather kept asking me "Where's granny? I've been looking for her, but I can't find her." FML
Today, I went to go see my granddad in the hospital and asked if he needed anything. He replied, "I need you to get out and send that hot nurse in, I may be old but I still got it." FML
Today, I'm taking care of my bedridden, 94-year-old grandma. She woke me up at 6 a.m. only to tell me her UTI is still there. Later, she made me interrupt my 15-minute-dinner a total of 4 times because she wanted things like "more lotion in her buttcrack." FML
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Top comments
Credibleskills 28
This reminds me of an old person misusing life alert!
colton_colton 50
Just leave food next to him so he can always eat without questioning!
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Comments (75)
poisongirl708 11
Sounds like what my grandfather does because he claims that he is soooo starving.
audra_raine 3
Having been a dementia care worker, this upsets me. Really? Knocking a wall to get any attention? How cruel. Maybe if you sat with him and had a chat, he would be a bit happier. Sure, the conversation may be a bit repetitive, but at least he wouldn't be sat on his own, with nothing to think about than when breakfast will be.
gracehi 33
Given that OP's name is "can't sleep," I think this must be happening at night. Surely you don't expect someone to accompany this elderly person all day AND all night, when he should be sleeping anyway, do you? Sounds to me like this family has made themselves available to him 24 hours by showing him how to wake them while they're sleeping. I'd say that's very accommodating rather than cruel.
tukies 28
Come on 31. We took care of my grandmother at home till the day she died. Why, because she was more comfortable. She freaked every time we put her in a hospital. At night we had to teach her how to get our attention, otherwise we would sleep when she needed something. Sleep is a natural thing you know.
brandoneyez1 25
Sounds like you can train him to do anything.
shiarrael 13
He is not remembering every hour to knock and ask for breakfast. He is FORGETTING that he had breakfast already. Also, I agree that this is cruel. You should have someone sitting with him rather than leaving him alone in his room all day.
tukies 28
Yes, because leaving him alone at night to sleep is elderly endangerment? From the title it sounds like this is a night thing, which really seem perfectly fine.
mikbrooke 25
#35 you dont know what he is remembering and what he is forgetting. stop assuming.
worldclassrager 41
Ear plugs...
sammyjo06 14
It doesn't say anywhere that OP's family doesn't sit with his great uncle and talk to him at all. But, they can't be doing that 24/7. It sounds like his mom just taught the uncle to do that in case he needed them during the times he is alone. That doesn't mean they're leaving him there the whole day.
Luluthus 41
Perhaps its time to consider a home for him, where they can provide full time care? I don't know the situation in OP's family, but I know of several a couple of people with dementia who had a more comfortable life after moving into a good nursing home.
SMHsohard 22
Ah, and there's the rub. Here in the States, a quality nursing home is going to cost an arm and a leg (think $7000/month or more). Medicare doesn't pay room and board for long term care, and most nursing homes are moving away from LTC to strictly Rehab (which Medicare DOES pay for). Medicaid does pay room and board, but the facilities only have a few Medicaid beds at any given time, and no longer take patients "Public Aid pending" meaning they filled out the papers but haven't officially gotten it yet. What I'm trying to say, is, unless your name is Rockefeller or you have one Hell of a retirement portfolio, you're pretty much screwed here when you get old, unless you have family willing and able to care for you.
gracefs 11
The elderly are so incredibly unappreciated.
bluefrootloops 13
We really need to find a consensus on putting people like this out of their misery. Rather than hooking them up to machines and pumping them full of drugs prolonging their misery because we think death is Hell.
blackonblight 33
If I ever start showing signs of possible dementia/Alzheimer's I'm moving to a place where I could choose euthanasia before I lost myself entirely. The idea is terrifying.
amanduhweezy 5
Poor old guy. I can imagine how frustrating it must be, taking care of someone in his state, but when he's gone you'll be happy your family took good care of him.