First, I'm sorry for your situation. Your mom is lucky to have you helping her.
She can use voice recognition (Dragon software) to operate a laptop on a portable table in front of her, or use an iPad or whatever other tablet she prefers. Using one of those, she can type letters, memoirs, anything, using a virtual keyboard (easier to do on the laptop than tablet), browse the Web, send e-mail, read e-books, listen to audiobooks, listen to music, watch movies/TV/college lectures, whatever she enjoys. She can also "chat" with people anywhere in the world via audio or video, thereby keeping in touch with friends and family, not just seeing their faces but they can take their phone or tablet around and show her things wherever they are. Those are a few things that come to mind. What devices do you have for her to work with, or would you think of getting? Of course, she will need to use a nasal mask if she wants to use her voice to control anything.
Other possibilities are a mouse like the Tetramouse that she can use with her chin/tongue/lips or a SmartNav that she can use with her head, to control a laptop.
If all this seems like too much work for her, if you are going to be with her, you can turn on videos, start a playlist, connect calls, etc. and leave her alone when she does not need you. For most of that, if she is not going to write and you are going to be the "controller," a tablet is fine and gives you more flexibility in positioning, e.g. a floor stand. We used a Levo stand. You can also mount it on the wheelchair or a table.
Do you have a Hoyer lift and know how you are going to do toileting and hygiene? Also, have you worked with an occupational therapist or someone who knows different beds/mattress types to enable her to lie down? Always sitting up, she will be at greater risk for pressure ulcers and it is just harder. You would never transfer her to a flat bed, of course; it can be positioned so she might be comfortable enough to use it. Does she have a Roho cushion and back on the chair? What kind of bed/mattress did you try?
Anyway, welcome to our corner of the world; we will support you however we collectively can.
--Laurie
