Mom's new caregiver

Here's a quick description of how the first day went with Mom's caregiver, Petra. She got to Mom's early (at 8:45 a.m.) and since I wasn't expecting her to be there until 9 a.m., I hadn't gotten to Mom's yet. I did call her, however, and she told me she was already at Mom's but Mom would not let her in the house! Yikes!! I got over there as fast as I could, and both Petra (who had been left outdoors while Mom went back to her chair in the living room) and I entered the house. Mom immediately said she hadn't requested a caregiver, so I once again (as I had done several times since last week) explained to her why she needed a caregiver. After a good 20 minutes discussion, she finally relented but made it clear that she was angry about this turn of events. While I was showing Petra around the house, Dad called. Mom immediately told him that she was "not a happy camper" as she had been told she was totally incompetent (not true of course) and that "Babette had brought some lady into the house", etc etc. Lo and behold, Dad did not take her side! He also proceeded to explain to her why she needed help at home. Mom was very disconcerted, but she finally quieted down and became somewhat subdued. I then left the house and came back just before 1 p.m. to take Mom to her follow-up Dr's appt. Petra told me that she had become somewhat more agreeable during the morning. In any case, Petra busied herself with cleaning the house - as there is much to do! I had done some cleaning during the past few days but the house has been neglected so much that the entire house does indeed need thorough cleaning. Petra also gave her lunch and by that time, Mom had finally begun communicating with her. At the doctor's office, she asked me repeatedly if "the lady" was coming back tomorrow. She also asked repeatedly if the lady was still at her house. She is very confused - but we do believe that this is partly due to her not changing her Alzheimer patch regularly.
I found that out when I began counting them and realized she had not used enough of them during the month of July.

Tomorrow, I will once again "show up" around 9 a.m. just as Petra arrives - just in case Mom gives her a hard time about coming into the house.

By the way, I did write up an agreement for Mom, Dad, Petra, Pat and me to sign. So far, only Petra and I have signed it. I will try to get Mom and Dad's signature on Sunday when they are both together. Petra plans to be there, too, so Dad can meet her.

Will keep you posted on how it goes the rest of the week. Even though I won't be there, I'll keep in touch with Petra and she can give me a report each day. She's also keeping a journal where she is writing down the events that occur during her time with Mom.