Tech Question: Setting up a webcam in my resort room.

[Trekkie]

OK, I bet this is a weird one.

Traveling to Contemporary, in March. We're actually going to have two rooms, but the question only concerns one.

I'm the caregiver for my mother, who has Alzheimer's and very bad arthritis. She basically can't get out of bed without me to help her. But she thinks she can. And there's a chance that she might try it. (Although it's probably been two years, since the last time she tried.)

Here at home, I've set up several web cams in her bedroom, so that I can watch her, when I'm out, and make sure that she's not sitting up in the bed, or anything that makes me concerned that she might be about to attempt to stand. It allows me to go grocery shopping and things, while still being able to look at her every five minutes or so.

Well, there's a slim chance that I might want to step out of the room at Contemporary, this trip. Maybe eat a meal or something with my new relatives who are flying in to stay in the other room.

It would be really nice if I could set up a web cam in our Contemporary room, so that I could check on her, while I'm sitting in California Grill.

Anybody tech savy enough to "speak geek" to me, and tell me how to do this, at Contemporary?

 

[bdcp]

OK, I bet this is a weird one.

Traveling to Contemporary, in March. We're actually going to have two rooms, but the question only concerns one.

I'm the caregiver for my mother, who has Alzheimer's and very bad arthritis. She basically can't get out of bed without me to help her. But she thinks she can. And there's a chance that she might try it. (Although it's probably been two years, since the last time she tried.)

Here at home, I've set up several web cams in her bedroom, so that I can watch her, when I'm out, and make sure that she's not sitting up in the bed, or anything that makes me concerned that she might be about to attempt to stand. It allows me to go grocery shopping and things, while still being able to look at her every five minutes or so.

Well, there's a slim chance that I might want to step out of the room at Contemporary, this trip. Maybe eat a meal or something with my new relatives who are flying in to stay in the other room.

It would be really nice if I could set up a web cam in our Contemporary room, so that I could check on her, while I'm sitting in California Grill.

Anybody tech savy enough to "speak geek" to me, and tell me how to do this, at Contemporary?

I don't know where to start except I would not leave her alone in a hotel room.

 

[Sue M]

I don't know where to start except I would not leave her alone in a hotel room.

Exactly. Or at home. Sounds like she needs more care. You can hire a caregiver to travel with her.

 

[Amanda999]

Hi -
[A later poster recommended Fairy Godmothers, who have caregivers for seniors, so I'm deleting my childcare referral (I suggested OP call Kids Nite Out, as I intend to when my disabled DS is an adult).]

I'm sure this is common enough issue. Maybe post on the disAbilities section of Disboards' forum? I bet plenty of people will have referrals. HTH!

 

[gwynne]

I don't know where to start except I would not leave her alone in a hotel room.

Exactly. Or at home. Sounds like she needs more care. You can hire a caregiver to travel with her.

I totally agree. If OP is really set on taking her Mom on a trip, then she needs to hire a 24 hour caregiver.
I don't think it's wise or safe try to "monitor" with a webcam. She needs someone at the ready to help her, especially in an unfamiliar environment.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

If you're just going up to the California Grill it might work, although it appears that she needs constant 24 hour care. Would she confined to the room and you will be the one providing the care? And that you've done this before and were not able to leave the room at all? If that's the case then I don't know how effective it will be for you to leave the room for any period of time even if you webcam her. If it's as you described, she could hurt herself in the time it would take you to take the elevator down from the CG.

 

[dominiondad]

Just a thought and not meant to be critical (and I'm not a lawyer). There may be a legal issue here. In your own home you have the right to set up cameras. In this case, you are setting up a camera to monitor somebody who doesn't appear to have the ability to provide consent. I would hate to have the cleaning staff see the camera and call the police before you had a chance to explain.

 

[bumbershoot]

You need to get some respite care. My aunt was her moms caregiver in the long slow slide to Alzheimer's and she refused to look into it for years. She finally was at the end of her rope and looked into options and was amazed by what she found. Having cameras on your mom so you can go to the store shows a clear need for some help.

And once you have that in place you can see about someone being home with your mom while you take a trip or hiring someone in orlando if she travels with you.

Don't make the mistake my aunt made for years. She regrets not looking into it until she was so frayed she could barely think.

 

[Sue M]

If you're just going up to the California Grill it might work, although it appears that she needs constant 24 hour care. Would she confined to the room and you will be the one providing the care? And that you've done this before and were not able to leave the room at all? If that's the case then I don't know how effective it will be for you to leave the room for any period of time even if you webcam her. If it's as you described, she could hurt herself in the time it would take you to take the elevator down from the CG.

Yes, that's what I was thinking. If there's no one there to help her and she falls out of bed and breaks her hip, a web cam isn't going to be of any help in preventing a serious injury. In a hotel or home.
My mom has Alzheimers. I tried to keep her in her home with care coming in 8 hrs a day, then had to move her to an Assisted Living facility that had a high level of care. It's a rough road. I hope you can get her the care she needs. A web cam isn't enough.
And I woukd think your moms better off not going on this trip. She should be home with 24/7 respite care, either in or out of her home.

 

[Trekkie]

deleted post.

 

[teller80]

I think the service people hire to watch kids (Fairy Godmothers) will also watch the elderly.

 

[Gizmo1951]

I cared for my aunt with Alzheimer's for almost 12 years.
I needed to quit my job to do so.
She really should not be left alone at Disney or at home. What if a fire broke out or she needed medical care. You should get a caregiver to stay with her .
Better safe than sorry.

 

[patty57]

I know no one has answered your original question, and I'm sorry that I can't help you with that either. I'm pretty technologically helpless.
I just want to point out that when your mom is at home, she is in very familiar surroundings. She will be in a strange environment in the Contemporary, so I don't think you can count on her behaving the same way she does at home with regard to not getting out of bed. She may be frightened by being in an unfamiliar place. You don't know how she might respond.
A caregiver will help ensure her safety in a way a video camera can't.
It must be incredibly challenging to care for a parent with Alzheimer's. You deserve a restful vacation without having to worry about your mom.

 

[Trekkie]

I just want to point out that when your mom is at home, she is in very familiar surroundings. She will be in a strange environment in the Contemporary, so I don't think you can count on her behaving the same way she does at home with regard to not getting out of bed. She may be frightened by being in an unfamiliar place. You don't know how she might respond.

I kinda feel like the 15 or so previous trips I've made with her, over the seven years that I've been her full time caregiver, (and, I haven't kept strict notes, but my suspicion is that on every single one of them, she has been left alone in the room, at least once, for a few minutes. Whether it's to go downstairs and get a pair of Mickey mouse ice cream bars, or to take several items of her clothing to the laundromat in the next building), gives me kinda a clue.

(Half the staff at Chef Mickey's knows her name. Several of the characters recognize her.)

But yes, I do understand your point.

 

[maxiesmom]

I kinda feel like the 15 or so previous trips I've made with her, over the seven years that I've been her full time caregiver, (and, I haven't kept strict notes, but my suspicion is that on every single one of them, she has been left alone in the room, at least once, for a few minutes. Whether it's to go downstairs and get a pair of Mickey mouse ice cream bars, or to take several items of her clothing to the laundromat in the next building), gives me kinda a clue.

(Half the staff at Chef Mickey's knows her name. Several of the characters recognize her.)

But yes, I do understand your point.

While all of that is good to know, as someone who has also had a family member with Alzheimers, I'm sure you know it is a progressive disease. And what works one day may be useless the next. Past success is not a guarantee of what would happen next time.

I have to be blunt, I think it is reckless to set up a camera and depend on that to keep track of your mom. Unless you never plan on leaving the Contemporary, you are going to be some time away. It won't be a matter of 5 minutes before you can reach her if something goes wrong.

Please give this idea more thought.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Okay. Yes, you're familiar with your mother's actions over the last seven years. It's possible her condition has progressed and you're too close to the situation to be fully aware, but that's not what you asked.

WRITE TO THE RESORT and ask for both advice and authorization. Then you'll know if it's both legally and logistically possible. But a couple of thoughts.
How quickly do you truly think you can get back to the room if your mother makes a move that concerns you?
Does the act of her sitting up in bed (not getting out of bed) concern you to that great a degree, or do you mean sitting on the edge of the bed?
How well do you realistically expect to get to know your new relatives when you're continually monitoring your mother's movements?

 

[bumbershoot]

I kinda feel like the 15 or so previous trips I've made with her, over the seven years that I've been her full time caregiver, (and, I haven't kept strict notes, but my suspicion is that on every single one of them, she has been left alone in the room, at least once, for a few minutes. Whether it's to go downstairs and get a pair of Mickey mouse ice cream bars, or to take several items of her clothing to the laundromat in the next building), gives me kinda a clue. (Half the staff at Chef Mickey's knows her name. Several of the characters recognize her.) But yes, I do understand your point.

Obviously something is different this time or you wouldn't be doing something different. I have a huge amount of empathy for you and I admire what you are doing for your mom. We admired my aunt too. But it was hard watching her get more and more stressed, not getting respite care, doing it all on her own, when other options were out there waiting.

 

[PlutosBone17]

I think it's great that you and your mother have taken so many trips to Disney together. Good luck with everything going forward!

 

[Lilliputian]

For a technical response, you can never count on something like that working in a hotel room. Especially in the evening when you'd be wanting to eat dinner. When a lot of people get back to their rooms and start using the Internet in their rooms, connection speeds will slow, and a live feed will be impossible at times. Have you ever tried to Skype with someone in a hotel room? It usually is really slow and broken up, and then the call just drops at random times. You'll have the same issue with a web cam.

Just look at the Roku thread active on this same board right now. Streaming is something you can never count on when sharing Internet access in a public place.

 

[Trekkie]

For a technical response, you can never count on something like that working in a hotel room. Especially in the evening when you'd be wanting to eat dinner. When a lot of people get back to their rooms and start using the Internet in their rooms, connection speeds will slow, and a live feed will be impossible at times. Have you ever tried to Skype with someone in a hotel room? It usually is really slow and broken up, and then the call just drops at random times. You'll have the same issue with a web cam.

Just look at the Roku thread active on this same board right now. Streaming is something you can never count on when sharing Internet access in a public place.

Yeah, now that you mention that, I've noticed that, myself.

(When I take Mom to Contemporary, I spend most of the day laying in the hotel room, with the curtains pulled, in the dark, while she sleeps. Trying to get Netflix over the Disney WiFi is often spotty. Sometimes I switch off WiFi, and let it eat into my phone's data plan.)

(I really wish they hadn't disconnected the wired Ethernet, that they already had installed in the rooms. I confess that I really don't much understand the point of disconnecting it. Once they've spent the money to wire everything, do they really save that much money, by disconnecting it?)

(I used to go there with a laptop. Plug the laptop into the wired Ethernet, and run a program that turned the laptop's wireless NIC into a hot spot, so my iPhone and iPad could access the Internet.)

I will give props to Disney or whoever did it, that cell phone coverage, in the rooms and in the parks, has gotten massively better, last few years. Used to be it was pretty much unusable. I assume they realized they had to beef that up, to accommodate the proliferation of MDE apps.