No Flying Plates

When Grandma was in her prime, she loved to eat with anyone and everyone.  When her dementia became more evident, she started withdrawing and taking her meals in her room.  Even if we were in another room or not going to be there during a meal, she still took her meals in her room.  When the time came that she needed to be in a nursing home, she flat out refused to dine with another resident.  Once, the staff tried to push the issue by wheeling her into the dining room when there was another resident in the room.  Grandma verbally objected before grabbing a plate and throwing it at the other resident.  The staff never tried to get Grandma to dine with anyone again.  Grandma's refusal made it clear she felt she was better than the others.  Dementia can be fun like that.

Lyn is starting to show similar behavior.  She will eat with Mom and if you go to a restaurant with her.  At day hab, she's now starting to object to eating with the other clients or eating what the other clients are eating.  If she knows they're ordering lunch as a group activity, she will try to convince Mom to let her take her own lunch or she will try to convince the staff that she needs a separate meal, even offering to pay with some of her dollars.  If the activity at day hab is to make a group meal, she will again try to take her own lunch and if that fails, she will go through the kitchen looking for leftovers from a previous day.  It isn't an issue of not liking the food that is being served.  The issue is that she doesn't want to eat what the other clients are eating.  She wants something she perceives to be better than what they're having.  This week, she decided that week-old, leftover spaghetti was better than fresh sandwiches made to order.

At least she didn't cause plates to fly.

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