My parents live in independent living, but there is a memory care unit. Dad has been having delusions, not sleeping, agitated, emotional, doesn't eat much, etc. My mother is worn out, exhausted, scared, etc. Dad is still somewhat cognitively able, but its hard to tell when he is and how he will react. Due to covid we can't go to them much, once a week. How do we know when to take that step?
Meg, the not eating and perhaps also not drinking enough will cause a lot of the problems too. They need nourishment regardless, to make the brain & rest of body work with any good affect.
If your Mom is worn out, then I'd say she is about done in herself. You don't need 2 people to care for 24/7. Get things oranized so Dad can take the next step. Mom can easily go visiting if they are both still in the same facility, but perhaps 2 areas of it. She needs support for her care to be able to move away from caregiver to individual. As a senior, she will have naturall slowed down, she needs to recuperate. Help her make the choices. Help by bringing a meal every time you come to visit. It will be one thing she need not have to do, in her overwhelming day.
-Sharon
Talk with your parents about getting a diagnosis for Dad. He will likely need a diagnosis before being accepted into the residence's memory care unit. It sounds like your mother needs the support.
Welcome to this caring group. As an RN I think mom's mental and physical health is at risk and dad should go into memory care asap
He has Frontal temporal & Alzheimer's. Diagnosed Oct. 2019. Dad doesn't reason or understand anymore.