I'm sure not having one will be very uncomfortable for my mom but wondered if other caregivers have advice? I'm hoping that after a few days she won't remember. My siblings have hard time getting thru to her and then she's anxious and wonders why we didn't call?
Thank you for advice, I read this column daily!
When moms dementia progressed past the moderate stage, she'd forget to hang up the phone entirely! So I'd get a busy signal for hours and have to call the MC to ask a caregiver to go into her room to hang it up. She forgot how to dial too. Or she'd remember how to call me and say A LADY'S VOICE SAID I SHOULDN'T DIAL A 1 FIRST and all sorts of chaos. I started having to dye my hair twice a month for all the gray that phone caused me. It was a nightmare. I was getting ready to buy her a rotary dial phone with a cord but then she declined even further and stopped using the phone altogether.
Again, I love what you came up with for mom! Brilliant.
(should be able to find one on Amazon)
Recently, I got her a new phone, using the service Telecalm. It's got a base you plug a landline into but using cell phone power. I have an app to control who calls her, who she calls, what hours she can use the phone, how many times she can call the same phone number within a certain time period, etc. I LOVE IT!
https://www.alzstore.com/teleCalm-phone-scam-repetitive-call-blocker-p/m005.htm
Most cell phones are way too complicated for someone with dementia nowadays anyway. You've heard the saying that it's hard to teach an old dog a new trick right? Well it's even harder if not impossible to teach an old dog with a broken brain a new trick.