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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Can we tell them not come for Xmas?

337 replies

Tactful10 · 06/12/2019 21:50

Namechanged. Elderly parents in their 80s, both with mobility problems and dementia. DF's dementia has taken a turn for the worse - he;s got frontal lobe problems which mean he moans out loud a lot of the time, complains constantly, is rude, demanding and whiny.

The expression No Filter could have been invented for both of them. DM is similar, and they fight, but not as deranged as DF.

We are worried that their behaviour - the loud cries of pain (no physical cause, doc says it's attention getting), the fighting, the unfiltered whining - will frighten dcs 16, 18, and 10. It frightens me and DH, and we're both knocking 50.

Can we cancel them? if so, how.

OP posts:
Sallycinammonbangsthedruminthe · 07/12/2019 06:50

OP ...however tough this situation is I think taking your parents out of the enviroment they live in will not do them any good at all.The travel to your home and the change of routine will throw them off course totally and they will not be able to come.Home is familiar to them and with dementia familiar is good.Seriously though urgent help is needed and fast.I would not even contemplate having them at your house as it could be unsafe for them and very distressing for them and you.Dementia is a dreadful disease and it is cruel.I would just ignore christmas as much as possible for them and try to keep them is a steady day to day routine.The days need to be as normal and familiar to them as possible.You have to bear in mind nothing much will make any sense to them anymore and the confusion in their minds and thinking is the disease and not them.The disease robs them of anything you knew or they knew about themselves.You have my sympathy.I would spend all the time between now and christmas screaming to get help for them.Your mum may argue she can come but it sounds obvious they cannot and specialist help is urgently needed. Your best gift to them is to try and get them intervention in some way...start with the GP ...ask for refferals get SS on board too and anyone else who can be of use.I would visit them and play down christmas as much as possible as it may just confuse them and frighten them even more.I wish you all well it is a dreadful situation for everyone.

Beveren · 07/12/2019 07:04

All these people sentimentalising about compassion and empathy have really no idea of the reality of dealing with people with dementia, particularly mixed with alcoholism.

OP, I agree that you shouldn't contemplate having them to stay with you, you wouldn't be doing them any favours. We always used to have my mother over for Christmas before she went into a care home, and it became increasingly obvious that we weren't doing her any favours: she couldn't understand the change in routine, hated being out of familiar surroundings, and really enjoyed none of it. We were getting to the point when I dreaded Christmas as a result.

frumpety · 07/12/2019 07:19

Your number one priority is getting the assessment by SS done asap to find out what care options are available to your parents.
Care in their home might work short term if they can find a care agency willing to deal with the behaviours that accompany frontal lobe dementia. Be prepared for a package of care to be put in place and the agency then to refuse to continue if the behaviour is too challenging.
Other than the behaviour , what other things are they struggling with and what do they need help with ? can they shop , cook , clean, do laundry, can they get up and down stairs safely if they have them, are they able to get out of bed and wash and dress themselves, do they remember to take medications if on any ?
You mention mobility problems, do they need any equipment, would they be able to use it safely ? would they remember they need to use it?
What happens if one of them becomes unwell or has a fall ? do they have a lifeline ? would they remember how to use it and can they call for appropriate help ?
You mention they fight , is this physical or verbal ? Is your DM or DF at risk of physical harm as a result of these fights ?

No way would I put anyone through 9 days of this OP, it doesn't mean you cant see them over the Christmas period and it doesn't mean you are uncaring or lack compassion. I would hate to be put in a situation where my unintended behaviour caused people I loved to be scared or upset, where is the dignity in that ?

QOD · 07/12/2019 07:25

Re your children being scared, that sounds ridiculous BUT taking people with dementia out of their home for any period of time is not a good thing. Very unsettling
Don’t have them to stay. Visit Christmas morning and then on Boxing Day with a plated up Xmas dinner
Keep in touch by phone with mum and just make sure they have food and drink
My in-laws both died with advanced dementia and neither had frontal lobe. They were so unsettled and a bit frightened when out of their home

cptartapp · 07/12/2019 07:33

I would prioritise my DC over my parents. They've had the best of their life, now it's your time.
Go over there and see them for one day (not Xmas). If they refuse careres they live with the consequences of that choice. Things will only change when a crisis occurs.
Don't get drawn in and don't feel guilty.

rumandbiscuits · 07/12/2019 07:35

After what you have updated OP I would say YANBU. I hope you work it out and have a lovely Christmas 🎄

saraclara · 07/12/2019 07:36

I presume that parents looked after you when you needed them. I'd say it's now your turn. Talk to your children it's for one day tell them they are unwell. I think you are being very harsh

@lisag1969 rift. It's for nine days. Then Google frontal lobe dementia. It's not Alzheimer's.

Christmaspug · 07/12/2019 07:37

Don’t be rediculous,woman up ,they are your relatives,and your kids are old enough to understand.that will be you one day

Juliette20 · 07/12/2019 07:38

I agree with not having them over, it will just increase their distress and they will not get anything out of it. Just go and see them and take some presents.

Sunnydays999 · 07/12/2019 07:41

Can you visit them Xmas morning take them a hamper and a Christmas dinner each

RoxytheRexy · 07/12/2019 07:45

Don’t do it. Try posting on the Elderly Parents section for practical advice

DuckonaBike · 07/12/2019 07:46

Funny the number of people telling the OP to show compassion who don't seem to have much compassion for the OP.

hoorayforharoldlloyd · 07/12/2019 07:46

You are right to want to protect your children. I have worked in a home with people living with various dementias. It is frightening and stressful. You will not have the energy to be kind to them and support your children for 9 days.

Yes explain the situation to your children and enable them to spend time in their grandparents company but don't put them under pressure to be confident with this. They don't see them all the time and it is scary. If you can, be upfront and when one do your parents shouts or says something stressful, say to your kids that it made you jump too but not to worry. Try to avoid eggshells and not mentioning it as that just adds to the stress.

Ignore the posters waxing lyrical about compassion apparently only existing if you are all upset. You can see family members who are unwell in a way that doesn't upset everyone.

Maybe visit with food but only for a few hours. You are better off seeing them in their own environment regularly for small amounts of time. They will enjoy it more and so will you.

Proper care is essential now. Good luck with organising that.

hoorayforharoldlloyd · 07/12/2019 07:47

@DuckonaBike exactly

AJPTaylor · 07/12/2019 07:47

Yanbu.
May be this will be the point that they have to accept they need help!

SnuggyBuggy · 07/12/2019 07:54

I see the but it's Christmas, it's famileeee!!! brigade have turned up

This 9 day visit sounds like a really bad idea, as people have said they will struggle out of their usual environment. Could you do a day trip to see them around the Christmas period instead?

I don't think you are wrong for wanting a nice Christmas for your children rather than one where everyone is stressed and frightened. I never cease to be amazed at the horrible situations people want to put children in to "teach them empathy" and I doubt your DP would benefit from this visit in any case.

I also agree I'd be focusing on getting the SS assessment ASAP as your DP situation doesn't sound sustainable.

Goldenchildsmum · 07/12/2019 08:00

Absolutely reduce the time . Can you go over for a couple of days ?

You must realise that 9 days is ludicrous. Why would you even think of inviting them for that long? What were you trying to achieve by doing that with all that you know about them?

If I were you I'd go to theirs either for a day (28th?) as a family , or you go for a couple of days to theirs on your own

PatchworkElmer · 07/12/2019 08:05

I would go and visit them for a day. They won’t cope well outside the familiar environment of their home.

ScrambledEggForBrains · 07/12/2019 08:10

Whether they come to you or you go to them, you need to look after and cherish both of them while you can. They aren’t going to be here forever and you are lucky to have both parents who want to be with you and your family. You sound ungrateful and horrible!!! They don’t deserve you YES YABU

stilltiredinthemorning · 07/12/2019 08:17

I'm so sorry OP I'm afraid I don't have any practical advice. I just wanted to add my voice to the many others saying that those who are questioning your lack of compassion should really have a long, hard look in the mirror. Honestly I think some of the responses on here are shameful and signal a complete ignorance of your situation.

In situations like this there is no 'right thing' to do. All you will manage is a messy compromise that will take all your mental and emotional energy to achieve. You are in a horrible situation and deserve all of our empathy and support. You are strong and you and your family will get through this.

Your parents would NEVER knowingly want you to put their grandchildren at risk. Of course it must be your priority to keep them safe.

I have every admiration for you OP and will be thinking of you over Christmas and hoping you manage some time and happiness for yourself. Flowers

MrsSpenserGregson · 07/12/2019 08:18

I've never given this much detail about my grandfather before and it's really hard to do it now, but the OP's situation resonates with me and I feel for her so much. My grandfather, in his 70s and early 80s, suffered from Frontal Lobe Dementia brought on by long-term, severe alcohol abuse. He abused alcohol because he suffered from schizophrenia (and before anyone jumps on me for using this term, that is what the medical term was back then, when he was diagnosed originally in the 1950s/60s).

He made all our lives hell. Christmasses were horrendous. I used to vomit with fear whenever he was due to visit. As a teenager, I was terrified of him. He used to suddenly and violently grab me and assault me (grab my breasts, for example). He was clever though, and only did it when nobody else was in the room. He would openly touch himself at family gatherings. He beat up my grandmother, hit my mum in the face, constantly threatened to punch my dad, smacked me A LOT when I was little....

This is a very small snapshot into what his behaviour was like but I can only bear to write a little of it down.

He would vomit if he didn't have alcohol (OP mentions that her father cannot simply be denied alcohol, as his alcoholism is too far advanced for sudden withdrawal). Alcoholics don't just take themselves off to the bathroom to vomit in private. They just start retching wherever they are. so, in their lap if they're in an armchair. Into their dinner if they are sitting at the table. He was totally self-centered - all his needs had to be met and bugger everybody else. He would swear, call my grandmother the filthiest of names, scream, lash out .... it was just horrible and terrifying for everyone. This went on for years. I was constantly told by my mum to have compassion for him, and that it wasn't his fault ... but actually, everyone else in the family suffered horribly while his suffering wasn't ameliorated at all, so really there was no point to us seeing him or trying to help him. He'd have been suffering anyway no matter what we did - all he wanted was to sit in his armchair ranting, dribbling, spitting into his disgusting spittoon, pissing on the carpet and drinking a bottle of whisky (bloody Bells) a day while screaming and yelling a load of abuse at whoever dared come near him.

God, I'm shaking now. I still wake up on Christmas morning with that sense of dread in my stomach, just for a few seconds, before I remember that he has been dead for over 20 years.

@Tactful10 I completely understand why you and your family cannot deal with this type of behaviour. I think you are dealing with an impossible situation. You have to put your children first. They should not be anywhere near your father if you think it's inappropriate. Anyone who has the sheer bloody nerve to say that you need to learn some compassion, or who dares to judge you, is an arsehole needs to learn some bloody compassion of their own, frankly.

Sending you all the good wishes in the world, I am so so sorry you're having to deal with this.

ScrambledEggForBrains · 07/12/2019 08:20

I have experience with dementia and I wish my Mum was still here, and I wish my Dad hadn’t just been diagnosed with terminal cancer! Educate your children on both your parents illness, so they won’t be frightened.

AFistfulofDolores1 · 07/12/2019 08:21

@MrsSpenserGregson - That sounds absolutely horrendous, and I think it was very brave of you to share your experience.

OP, I am firmly in the camp of "Just say NO". You do not have to put you, or your family, through this.

fokouembiyemassj · 07/12/2019 08:27

Op remember you are also getting old, how would you feel if your children treated you like that . You only get one mother and father in this life . Awful

Cyberworrier · 07/12/2019 08:27

I want to apologise OP, I voted last night that you were being unreasonable and having read the full thread, I withdraw that. And sorry that I, like lots of others, were being so lacking understanding and empathy.
Different dementias have such different challenges. I would visit on the day for a meal if you can - or better try to persuade your mum to go along with visiting you while your father goes to your brothers. Best of luck getting their situation sorted out, I know how hellish it can be trying to get appropriate care for loved ones 💐