Hands-on Care Needed For My Mother In Peterborough

About who needs care: My mother has mid-stage dementia and is in need of additional care. I live with her and provide caregiving during the day, but she would benefit from the help of a professional for bathing and hygiene related care. She also would benefit from more socialization with a friendly person with whom she can bond and whom she can trust. She has a variety of interests including reading, gardening, watching movies, knitting, stamp collecting, recycling, and interacting with children (she used to be an educator). She has two cats to whom she is devoted and my dog also lives in the home. She has some German heritage and she enjoys exchanging phrases in German with a person who also speaks the language. She has always been kind, generous, feisty and opinionated and so far her dementia hasn't changed these things! About the care needs: We are looking for someone who has experience or expertise with care for people with memory loss/dementia and with bathing and hygiene care. Mom needs hands-on help with bathing in her home shower, as she forgets whether she has washed part of her body already or not and has lost the ability to sense her own cleanliness or make judgement calls about it. She has some walking mobility limitations and so she bathes sitting in a shower chair, but she can walk short distances without assistance and doesn't currently use a cane or walker. We would like to find someone who can build trust with her (as much as is possible, given the dementia) and can both help her with personal care and spend time with her socializing. Right now we are looking to hire someone to visit 2-3 times a week for 2-4 hours at a time to see how mom connects to the person and to ease into her having help with bathing and hygiene care. Ideally we could find someone who also has the availability and flexibility to help care for mom at other times when I have long appointments or have to be away longer for work. For bathing assistance she may prefer a female helper but we are opening to meeting candidates of any gender. We have pets in the home so we need a caregiver who is comfortable with that. We also cannot have smoking in the home. It would be difficult for anyone to come to our home without access to their own reliable transportation, and it would be helpful if the caregiver can sometimes drive Mom into town for an errand or appointment if needed. Currently Mom sometimes experiences sun downing in the late afternoons and she has mild paranoia, mostly towards her daughter (me). She repeats herself frequently and she can get agitated or upset, especially when she doesn't feel in control, but is never violent. Mostly she wants to tell the people around her about stories from her past or about her opinions. She can be quite stubborn and at times brutally honest/unaware of the hurtful nature of her words. She is mostly unaware of her cognitive condition and has lost the ability to sense her own hunger, thirst, body temperature comfort, and body cleanliness. We need to find a caregiver who is comfortable navigating these things with her and is open to navigating the coming stages of dementia as her condition continues to deteriorate. Mom enjoys listening to music and doing crafts, such as knitting. She likes gardening, nature and being outdoors when the weather is good. She was an early childhood educator and loves meeting young kids, so we are open to a caregiver who would want to bring their children to the home from time to time. We're hoping to find a special person whom we can trust and whom Mom can time with. enjoy Services needed include: transportation, meal preparation, errands / shopping, light housekeeping, companionship, feeding, and bathing / dressing.