Category: Uncategorized
What to say when we know something is wrong.
A couple of days ago I met a woman I have known for a while. She is in her late eighties and lives on her own. We will call her Sharon – not her real name. For the past few months it has been obvious that Sharon is having memory issues: She has lost things […]
Read More → What to say when we know something is wrong.Religion – How it can help people with dementia.
Religion can be a great source of comfort for people with dementia particularly if they have been actively practicing their faith for a long time. People who have Alzheimer’s Disease, the most common cause of dementia, lose their short term memory first. Older, long term, memories last much longer so someone who can’t remember what […]
Read More → Religion – How it can help people with dementia.How to cope when they don’t recognize you.
The first time my mother did not know who I was it almost killed me. It was like a kick in the stomach. It was a physical pain and it hurt. I knew the day would come when it would happen but nothing prepared me for the emotional hit when it arrived. I wanted to […]
Read More → How to cope when they don’t recognize you.What to do when they want to go home.
One issue that caregivers often have to deal with is when their loved one with dementia insists that they want to go home. This can happen when they are living in a nursing home, memory care unit or some other residential care setting. It can also happen when they are living in their child’s home […]
Read More → What to do when they want to go home.How to cope with Caregiver Guilt.
One of the emotions we, as caregivers, have to deal with is guilt. It is a powerful force which can cause us all sorts of difficulties. We feel guilty because we can’t do anything to fix this. We can’t make our loved ones better. No matter how much we do, it never seems to be […]
Read More → How to cope with Caregiver Guilt.Dealing with hallucinations in dementia care.
Hallucinations – seeing, hearing, touching, tasting or smelling things that are not there – are a common phenomenon in people with dementia. In Alzheimer’s disease they usually occur in the later stages. Those with Lewy Body Dementia are likely to experience them earlier in their disease. Most of my mother’s imaginary visitors were friendly and […]
Read More → Dealing with hallucinations in dementia care.Getting Mom to accept help.
If you have one parent taking care of their spouse it can be hard to get them to accept help. There can be many reasons for this. A lot of people I talk to say that they know how busy their adult children are and they don’t want to add any more burdens to their […]
Read More → Getting Mom to accept help.What to do when your loved one won’t sleep.
One of the biggest problems for caregivers is when their loved one won’t sleep. This is often the final straw for people and one of the main reasons why they decide that keeping them at home is no longer possible. If the loved one is not sleeping, very often nobody else in the house is […]
Read More → What to do when your loved one won’t sleep.Using photographs as memory aids.
Photographs of friends and family can be a very useful tool to interact with a loved one with dementia. Just remember that it is better to give them information than to ask them questions. “Look, there’s Patricia” is a better thing to say than to ask “Who is that?”. The purpose is to try and […]
Read More → Using photographs as memory aids.Dementia or Alzheimer’s – what’s the difference?
People often ask what the difference is between Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Dementia is the overall term for a group of symptoms caused by the death of brain cells. Alzheimer’s disease is just one cause of dementia though, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, it does account for about 60% to 80% of all cases. Vascular […]
Read More → Dementia or Alzheimer’s – what’s the difference?How to compare nursing homes in USA.
I found this very useful page from Medicare.gov which allows you to check the nursing homes in your area of the USA. It gives information on the quality of care, staffing levels, whether they accept Medicaid patients and many other topics. Click on the link and it should take you to the page. https://www.medicare.gov/NursingHomeCompare/search.html .
Read More → How to compare nursing homes in USA.Feeling lost
I was very fortunate that my mother was able – and willing – to tell me what she was feeling for the first few years of her illness. This made it easier for me to know what to do and say to help her feel more secure. She was feeling very uneasy one day so […]
Read More → Feeling lostThe hole in the floor.
I met a woman recently whose husband had suddenly refused to go into the bathroom. She couldn’t get him through the door no matter what she tried. She couldn’t understand it. It made no sense. It turned out that there was a mat inside the door and he thought that it was a hole in […]
Read More → The hole in the floor.Holding on to hope.
One day I went to visit my friend Ruth. She was in the middle stages of Alzheimer’s disease. She lived alone in the house she had lived in for the past 40 years. Next door to her lived her brother and his wife. Each morning her sister in law would get her up and dressed […]
Read More → Holding on to hope.Greeting cards
I have an idea for the next time someone asks you what they can do to help. Suggest to them that they send your loved one a greeting card in the mail. This can be helpful no matter what stage of the disease they are at. If someone is in the early stages of the […]
Read More → Greeting cards