Bedbound Mother, 74, and Daughter who... - Anxiety and Depre...

Anxiety and Depression Support

90,928 members84,877 posts

Bedbound Mother, 74, and Daughter who is a caregiver as well

AnonymousPS profile image
4 Replies

My mother is bedbound and 74 years old, in critical condition. My mother's power of attorney, who is my half sister, lives 25 minutes away. She is constantly late, or has no shows when she says she's coming over to the house (for baths, dropping off food, petty cash for workers, or to see my mother, etc).

My mother has not eaten in the last 5-6 days, full 3 course meals. She had about 6 table spoons of food (of a variety of food), 3-4 bites of a pancake, and right now, is only having liquids.

The caregivers are 24/7, day and night shifts (Day: 8am-8pm, Night: 8pm to 8am). The lead caregiver who is an Asian male, is here 6x out the week (day shift). During a recent appointment, I noticed that he did not report the full condition of my mother's eating. Yesterday, my mother had a nutritionist call her, and he did not tell her that she has not eaten in the last 5 days, full meals. He only said: "She is only eating liquids." He is under reporting her food intake. This caregiver, I have had problems with, and I have reported it to my older half sister, who has kept the agency, despite me having problems with him (and his co-workers), doing this on purpose to go after me.

What do I do about this. It causes me stress, and anxiety. I do not like the caregivers. They are hostile, passive aggressive, intimidating, etc. There is only me, my mother, and my twin, who live at the house. My 83 year old godfather/step father lives next door in his RV.

The power of attorney, who is my half sister, does not communicate well with me or my twin on purpose to cause stress, anxiety, conflict. She has been combative, difficult, and cruel to me, and my twin. Her and the caregiver have an inappropriate relationship, and they go after the family.

The other day, the lead Asian male caregiver followed my godfather/step father around the house (early morning, 3pm, and then 7pm) and argued with him about being in his boxers around when an Asian female caregiver will be on duty. That Asian female caregiver has had “no shows,” was 55 minutes late 3 nights ago, and has been late on other night shifts. She was suppose to be changed out months ago, requested by my mother. My mother has grown tired and hasn’t made that decision again. In fact, my mother was just taken to the ER this afternoon for “shallow breathing.” This is her 9th ER visit since August. She can barely speak.

The other night, another Asian male caregiver made sure that same Asian female caregiver showed up again, by giving up his night shift so she would show up, just to harass my godfather/stepfather. My godfather/step father said to the lead Asian caregiver, to have the Asian female switched out, changed to another caregiver, a male or another female, ample time before the night shift. He did not.

How do I care for my mother if I am not the power of attorney? How do I get others to know her condition, when the caregiver blocks other workers from knowing her food intake, during appointments? It is a power struggle and a problem. And, what do I do when they intimidate my godfather/stepfather? The nutritionist told the caregiver, "you are not an RN." But, the caregiver has power and control problems. The caregiver agency has been paid $68k in the last 4 months, since October 2022. We have had previous agencies and I did not experience so many problems as I have experienced with the current agency.

I don't like the hostility in the house. I don’t feel comfortable in the house. I don’t like my mother’s “care.”

Written by
AnonymousPS profile image
AnonymousPS
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
4 Replies
SayNOtoPanic profile image
SayNOtoPanic

Report them (the agency and the power of attorney) to adult protective services and the ambudsman of your state for senior services.

Lve2dance profile image
Lve2dance in reply to SayNOtoPanic

Good 💡 idea. My grandmother passed away a while ago, but we had similar issues. It's hard enough to deal with a family member in need, especially when the people you trust to help don't have your best interests. Often these people are underpaid and some don't care

bethelbee profile image
bethelbee

I totally agree with SayNoToPanic. Report the caregivers and the POA to adult protective services and ombudsman of your state for senior services. This is abuse and neglect and your mom's well being is at stake.

emmi331 profile image
emmi331

Document everything, including what you know of the inappropriate relationship, which means your sister's partner is influencing her where your mother's care (or lack of same) is concerned. And I agree with others, that this needs to be reported. It sounds like legal action should be taken.

Not what you're looking for?

You may also like...

Anyone experience deteriorating health due to not leaving the house and/or sitting a lot?

Due to depression (and to an extent, anxiety) it's gotten really difficult to accomplish things...

What to do when made feel worthless by own mother

Normally i dont open up about my feelings like this…. But in this group , even though im new here,...

Tension headaches

Does anyone suffer with any type of tension headaches?I struggle to get a decent night's sleep as...

Struggling with medication

Im struggling with my meds I am on Sertraline 125MG for anxiety and depression and Amitriptaline...

i do not want to be a mom.

ive been really scared to talk about this but being able to do it anonymously makes it easier. i am...