Frail old lady is bored stiff. Please help!?

Question

My mother is in her late 90s, and she is bored.  Her mind has outlived her body.  She is bright, interested in everything, and only gave up balancing her checkbook because of failing eyesight.  But...

She is frail, sitting upright on a hospital bed most of every day.  She can walk to and from her bathroom or a little further, but it leaves her light-headed and breathless.  She has partial vision in one eye, recognizes familiar visitors and does routine tasks.  She can no longer read, or see, for example, the "Wheel of Fortune" letters on TV.  Her hearing is not good, either.  Her hearing aid allows her to converse if you speak clearly with a slightly raised voice.  Some days she hears her amplified phone, other days not.  Her TV helps little, because of sight and hearing problems.  She has trouble using and hearing a CD player.

A friend got her knitting, but she can no longer read the charts.  She does crosswords with a magnifying glass, but can't use dictionaries.

So...  Any ideas?

Vol · Accepted Answer

How about giving her a tape recorder and let her record her "memoirs"?

She could even get a computer and start typing them out.  If you can get someone to sit with her, she could talk to them and they could record her or type for her.

Explain to her that you want to get her memoirs down and possibly write a book about her and her memories.

Think up a lot of questions and ask them to her.  Let her put things into her own voice and pass on her life experiences to the world.

It will allow her to keep her mind active by thinking about the past...and it will give her something to look forward to.

Plus, you never know...she could be really good at it and end up writing a good book based on her life.

Mamacita · Answer

I am sure you may have thought of this one, but.....have you checked into your local senior center?  They even have volunteers to come and pick up and drop off. 

I helped care for my grandmother when she was still living and she was stubborn.  We had to just make the "appointment" for her and told her to be ready.  Anyway, she played bingo (your mother could just sit with someone even).  Just being around other people.....They have little programs and schedules there.  Pick one day a week and give a go a few times even if it's just for the lunches they serve there.

I hear you when you say she is frail and spends most of the day in bed, but you'd be surprised how much a body can pep up once the right stimulus is found.

Audio Books? Sudoko anyone? Painting (even if it's just a travel pack of watercolors and a larger pad)? Get her to write her memoirs.

I hear your concern.  Really, best of luck to you.

Anonymous · Answer

hire an "entertainer" some one with a lot of free time who can visit every other day for a few hrs. to read to her or basically make sure she's always doing something, and helping her do it. Finding some one should be easy..offer like 7 bucks an hour, and :D

Anonymous · Answer

a pet is a  great idea, but wher she is in the hospital i dought they would alwo that, I really like the recording her mememorys idea that way you will always have them and she would be entertained - maybe you could bring her all her pictures and she could tell you who is in them - like the old ones we were just going through my grandmothers things after she passed and really wished we knew who they were, and maybe if the hospital wont alow a cat or dog you could get her s fish it isnt much but she could feed it and stuff.

Anonymous · Answer

i heard of this game that more & more seniors are using but i dont know how large the print is. its called brain age. it has all these different questions kind of like wheel of fortune, etc..to keep your mind young.

Frail old lady is bored stiff. Please help!?

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