My mother handles my grandmother's finances. There is a large estate. Everything is transparent and all family members have access to all transaction records, investments, etc. My grandma is paranoid about "being left destitute" and even though my mom explains all bills paid, my grandma can't understand, and is very forgetful from one minute to the next. She is verbally abusive to my mom. My uncles don't get involved because they don't want to step into the line of fire, so to speak. She recently became convinced my mom bought a new car with her money. This is not true. She has dementia and needs my mom's help but is abusive. We explain it to her over and over, but she is convinced.
Accusations about stealing and other paranoid behavior are very often present with dementia. This behavior is not exactly abusive, because it is not deliberately intended to hurt someone -- it is mistakenly done out of fear and delusions. That doesn't make it any more pleasant for your mother, but it might be less hurtful if Mom (and the rest of the family) understood that it is part of Grandma's dementia.
With most delusions, a helpful response is to acknowledge the feelings and then to change the subject. "Oh, Mom, I am so sorry you got the impression that I bought my car with your money. I hope I didn't say something that made you think that because I would never do that to you, and your sons wouldn't let me do it even if I was so greedy. I took out a loan to buy that car and I'm paying for it with my own money. Speaking of cars, do you remember what kind of car Daddy had when you were dating him?"
Explaining something over and over again to someone with dementia is seldom successful. With dementia Grandma is losing her ability to reason, so giving reasonable, rational explanations just doesn't work. Instead try to validate her feelings, give a very brief summary of the truth, and an assurance that nothing bad is going on.
If her accountant or financial manager meets with her, warn him or her in advance of Grandma's fears and concerns and her limited ability to comprehend detailed answers. She may be more willing to take the word of an "outsider" than of a family member. Perhaps this person would be willing to "investigate" her concerns and get back to her after a week (or the next day) with assurances that there are no discrepancies in any of the accounts.
When he was in his paranoid phase my husband always demanded to see our bank statements and feared I was stealing his money. It seemed to calm him and satisfy him if I gave him a bank statement -- even if he was reading it upside down!
Your family will probably discover ways to reassure Grandma and reduce the stress around this issue.
Or the paranoid phase may simply pass on its own one day, and she may go on to other delusions.
When a person takes on a role of responsibility for someone with dementia, he or she should expect some unpleasantness. A caregiver needs to be strong, have teflon skin, and cultivate an ability not to take accusations personally. This we do out of love. It will be very helpful if the rest of the family, while staying out of the line of fire, continuously is supportive of the person in the bullseye!
I wish all of you increasing success as you grapple with this emotional challenge.
Is your Mom the daughter or in-law? I could write some dialogue for her.
"Mom, if I stole your money, I would do a better job of hiding the evidence." "Mom, you know how you raised me. If you think I would do something like that, then you didn't raise me very well, did you?"
"Mom, it really sucks that you have to let me be in charge of money for you. I bet you wish you could still do it yourself. I love you - you know that! I would never steal from you."
"Mom, If I stole from you to buy a car, it would be a Ferrari, not the cheapest Kia on the market! You taught me expensive tastes."
Remind your mom not to take it personally. Accusing one's nearest and dearest of theft is a standard part of the disease.
The delusions and paranoia are classic for dementia and often worsen in the evening hours called sundowning. Not all dementia patients will act the same. It depends on which part of their brain is affected. I agree to validate the feelings, reassure them, and change subject. An elder often becomes argumentative, agitated, nasty or abusive at times when they are confused and feel a loss of control and independence. If they become physically threatening, do not approach them. Just moving away may diffuse the situation. Contact their doctor as medications may be needed .Especially bathroom accidents can become very embarrassing to them.
****** I would recommend your mother have your grandmother have an evaluation by an expert in dementia. This will give the stage of her dementia. When my mother in law had her second one done 2 years ago, we were surprised she was already mod-severe dementia of Alzheimers type. Many medical personnel's training, including doctors and nurses is very limited on dementia so done by a specialist is most helpful. By having the initial staging done it can compare to another down the road. The staging is also helpful for other medical professional to know where your grandmother is in her process and helps them with knowing how to care for her best. The doctors did the second evaluation while my MIL was in- patient at the hospital. They would not allow my MIL to be discharged to live alone at home. This was best for my MIL's safety, and our peace of mind as we live 3 hours away.
I ask my mother in law what day, month, year, season, birthdate and year, where she is at, and what time it is.
I think it is very admirable and loving of you to seek out advice for your grandmother....... You are special!