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You tell her that she needs to go to a lovely care facility where there will be great food, entertainment, outings and friends. You thereby save some family member from the misery of home caregiving your mom.

Read some of the posts from this site that will show you how family caregivers bravely and naively tackle the task of taking care of a dementia-patient loved one at home. Bone-weary caregivers come here wanting out of the family gig because they've lost their own sanity along the way. Like when mom wanders outside and ends up on a major highway. Or dad pees in every floor vent in the house. Or keeps the household awake all night every night screaming or wailing. I'm not making this up.

Take the out that mom's giving you and find her a wonderful place where professionals will care for her with kindness and long experience with her type of dementia.

"Oh but MY mom wouldn't do any of those things and we love her so much we can't let her go to one of those horrible places!" Yes, she would. And yes, you could. And they are not horrible. They are a godsend to families who find it unsustainable to take care of relatives at home. There's no shame in admitting that you are not a professional and cannot provide the services at home. Go visit some memory care facilities before you make your lifetime commitment to take care of mom at home. You may be glad you did.
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Reply to Fawnby
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You tell her what you need to in order to make sure she is safe.
You tell her what you need to in order to make her less anxious and upset.
Is she living with you, or you with her or is she living alone???
You can tell her that she is with you, or you are with her for "a little while"
If she is living alone that has to change. If Memory Care facility is an option that removes the "living with family" out of the equation.

It is very possible that what is in her mind is that she never wanted to have to rely on family members to care for her. (and I get it if that is the case I would not want a family member to have to care for me)
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Reply to Grandma1954
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This is a good way for you to help transition her to a memory care facility. Let her know her new home will be comfortable and she will get to make new friends. Make it into an adventure for her.
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Reply to JustAnon
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