we're worried about her living alone. We've tried to convince her to move to a retirement community, so that she still has her independance, but there is also help nearby if she needs it. She is adament about staying in her own home. Nevermind that she's left food out to spoil, forgets where she leaves important papers, and has been known to leave her gas stove on.....
Her Dr has sent her for "competancy testing" but no one in the family knows the results. She must not have done too badly since she's still in her home. But she's 88 and is not in the best of health. She's had heart attacks, blood clots and severe infections.(Currently it's her thyroid)
Can I get some advice?

Since she still wants to stay in her home, but needs some help, have you checked into having a visiting nurse come to the home to check up on her and help her with whatever her needs are? Since she has some medical problems, her insurance should cover this, especially once the dr signs off on this. It's not a 24/7 solution, but at least you'd know that someone is checking up on her at least once a day. When my grandma was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and put on oxygen, we had a nurse come to help her once a day. The nurse would come and make sure all the meds were ready for the day, the meals were set to cook, the oxygen supply was good, whatever grandma needed help with. We also told her that she could no longer drive while she was on oxygen. We knew that was not entirely true, but with the medication she was going on, we did not want her to hurt someone. So, to prevent an accident like I had, we took her keys...for everyones safety. She was ok with it because she knew that she would get where she needed to go by family taking her, and that her needs at home would be met by the nurse that came every day. There are many organizations in every town that can help you get this set up, even if her insurance won't pay for it for whatever reason. It's worth checking out. Good luck.