911 Help Me...I can't remember!!!

Some days are Harder than others!!!

Today was one of those days. One of my dearest residents had a very rough afternoon. She was totally angry at her daughter for taking the day off. She couldn't figure out why or how she could do that to her. I tried to get her to think about something else, but it just became a bigger problem. Next it lead to where was her husband...I am going to get up go upstairs, take my car and drive home. At this point I knew we were way past just a little redirecting.

I had been with her and her daughter a few months before when her beloved husband passed away while we all stood vigil over him. She was convinced he was out, and why was he not calling, he was doing it on purpose. In the past, I was able to talk to her and bring her around, and she could be convinced and reassured and reminded of things.

I try very hard to protect the family members because they need a break and this one in particular really does. She spends way too much time here and continues to burn herself out. However, the behavior continued to accelerate so I needed her help this time. I called the daughter on the phone so she could talk to her Mom and try to calm her down. It all ended up that the daughter and son-in-law had to come over and spend time with Mom to try and calm her down. Inbetween, she called 911 and I ended up talking to the police department and letting them know everything was ok.

So like I said, some days can be very interesting. Challenging to say the least.

MOTHERS DAY WITH ALZHEIMERS

Time marches on and it will soon be our next famously celebrated MOTHER'S DAY. What do you give mom for mother's day? Flowers? Might be nice, but are they poisonous? Will she eat them? Clothes? Will she even care? Probably not, she doesn't care if her top and bottoms match, it drives me crazy, but it doesn't bother her. Jewelry? Nope, I have no idea where she put that old family ring that I liked so well, thank goodness it was not worth very much!! I am sure it will show up somewhere. She is always putting things down somewhere or another.

Ok, what does she really really like? Ice Cream... but if she doesn't eat it fast enough, it drips all over and of course she likes chocolate the best and that stains her clothes. If I buy a container, it just sits in her freezer she doesn't remember its there.... I know.... cookies, she loves them, no matter what time of day, no matter what she is doing, she never turns down a cookie. Its easy to hold, it isn't too big, she can eat it quickly not to miss out on anything. Its perfect. Now I have to make sure its in a good container, otherwise the ant patrol will find them and the troops will invade overnight. They have monthly flower clubs....I wonder if they have monthly cookie clubs. Yes they do!!! Wouldn't it be nice to see that great big smile on her face month after month when that cookie canister arrived in the mail for her.

I have a website that will show you different assortments and ideas, even if you want to do just a one-time version. Remember... you have to keep things simple.

Classic Fresh Baked

Alzheimer's End Stage...Death

Unfortunately last night I received a phone call from my daughter that her grandfather had just passed away approximately 2 hours ago. He had Alzheimer's or some sort of Dementia that everyone had been trying to cover up for years.

This was my ex-father-in-law, so I was completely out of the picture so I could not offer and wise wisdom or explanations or help. I heard through my daughter all the difficult situations they were going through and it made my heart sick.

They had just placed him back into a Nursing Home the day before, and they found him in bed where he was sleeping, passed on to his next journey. They are in Minnesota and I am in California. My youngest is here, and never got to know the "real" grandpa. He had already begun to change by the time he knew him.

It is a long, sad process sometimes, and takes the spark out of someone that was there.
I will miss him deeply, he was a hero in my eyes.
Flower.com

Dementia Soothing Sounds

Soothing Sounds......

Rain falling on the roof ..... Ocean waves breaking on the shore .... Bubbling Brook .....

We all have our favorites. When the person with some form of Dementia becomes agitated, there is usually some sound that will trigger a happy mood. Maybe its a baby gurgling, a cat purring, a picture of a dog, multi-color lights.

Many of these people grew up with radio, a lot more than television. It was their livelihood. Music was a huge part of their life. Most of the men and women were wonderful dancers. They went to ballrooms frequently. They all learned the most popular dance steps. To them, this is a pleasing wonderful memory to them. When they are upset, put a little music on and watch their demeanor change. Go into their world with them. Dance, twirl, smile, laugh. It is truly amazing the change that occurs.

There are many different kinds of music but these people remember the old time tunes. My mom had wonderful collections and I am hoping to be able to put up that site here very soon for you.

Soon it will be our generation of music. Motown, Beatles, Beach Boys. As the generations become older, so do the music sounds differ. So we will have to update what music was pleasing to each age group. What is good for an 80 y.o. and bring back great memories will not be as wonderful to a 60 y.o.

I think Music is, and always be pleasing to all of us. There are very few people I interview before coming into our community that I ask, Do you like Music that have ever said No!

WHO IS THIS..???

Who is this person inside my Mom?
She doesn't even know me? How can that be...I am her DAUGHTER!!
She was always the kindest nicest person everyone loved her, how can she be doing all these
terrible things to the people who are trying to take care of her? Oh gosh, she is embarassing not
only me, but if she could see herself she would be MORTIFIED!!

I can't even tell you how many times these questions are asked of me. It is so hard for the family members of loved ones of Alzheimer's residents. They turn into people that they don't even know. It is sad for everyone. Not only does the resident need love and support, but also the family members need it as much if not more.

There are alot of support groups out there. If you go to one and do not feel comfortable, go to another until you find one that you are relaxed at. You need other people to talk to that are having the same feelings that you are. They are suffering the same things that you are, or have, and they may have plenty of ideas on how to help you cope.

If you are in an Assisted Living community, seek out the friendship of the family members that have their loved ones there.

Many times this aggressive behavior will pass, or lessen as the disease progresses. Sometimes, it does not, and we need to give some medication to help lessen the anxiety level. Once the anxiety decreases, the behavior will lessen. Once that happens we are able to take them off the medication eventually.

This is just one of the phases that can happen with Alzheimers. You can learn more by contacting your local Alzheimer's Association.
Precious

Exercise is best Weight Loss Cure !

We have become a society of overweight citizens. What do we attribute this too? There are many reasons this is happening. Most families require both parents to be working full time just to be able to make ends meet. The mortgage, the utilities, the daycare, the car loans, the telephone, water, garbage, and all the other miscellaneous expenses. The major one today of course is turning into the price of gasoline.

Long gone are the days of Mom staying home and making a wonderful home cooked meal waiting on the table when Dad walks in the door. Now its grab a box, can, package, a pound or two of meat, mix them together and eat. Or, lets, stop at the local fast food chain down the street then we can eat and throw away the containers and no dishes to clean. Now thats even a better idea. Of course both these alternatives have the high calories we all do not need.

What do we want to do when we get home from work? Sit down, eat, and relax! The last thing on our mind is to do some exercise right? Well... right. But that should be the first thing on our mind. In order to conteract all those calories we have to do more exercise to burn those calories off.

There are many ways in which to do this. Walking is probably one of the easiest, and the whole family can do this. Bicycle riding is also another one the whole family can do. You could join a health club, but then you have to commit time, get in the car, go to the club, and do it. Many people join up and are very enthusiastic to begin with, but then each week skip a day, then a couple days, etc. That is why they do not have to keep adding on to clubs, people don't continue to use them and they never fill up.

Then you can get some equipment and put it in your house. All the good intentions. You still have to make the commitment to use it. It collects dust just like the rest of your furniture in your house.

If you consistently exercise, you will see a consistent weight loss occur. You will tone your body, and you will feel better and happier, and your heart will love it.
Precious

Shingles

Todays wonderful dreaded topic is Shingles.
One of those dormant viruses that lurks in your body, waits until your resistance is lowered and kaboom here it comes. Something wakes it up, come and let's play.

It generally affects one side of the body or another. It usually follows a nerve. It starts as a rash generally itches like crazy, forms blister type lesions that dry up flake look horrible and then you get a tremendous pain from it generally speaking. Most popular sites are on the torso. I have also seen extremely painful ones going from the eye up the forhead to the top of the skull.

When the symptoms hit, if you get Acyclovir promptly, it generally makes the whole process a little better. It still is a horrible virus that has been dormant in your body ever since you had those lovely chickenpox as a child. You know that dent in your head, where that scab fell off too soon and left that pox mark. Most of us that are older have at least one of those.

Nowadays they have a vaccine for chickenpox and for shingles. Do yourself and your child a big favor get the vaccine and save yourself the pain and misery of this virus. It's one your won't care if you miss.

shingles - Google Image Search

Precious

Quiet Sunday

I Spent a Quiet Day at home today. On the weekends I usually do not have to think too much about health issues. However a couple weekends ago I did.

I was at Carnegie Park which is where us dirt bike riders go to relieve our stress, frustrations and go for thrill, and heart stopping adventures. I generally go with my 16 y.o. son who always ditches me for his friends. (Can you imagine) There was a relatively new rider going back and forth and taking these tiny hills and having a good time until she didn't give her machine enough gas going up and ended up falling with the bike landing on top of her. She pushed the bike off of her and her friends came to her and she seemed fine. I continued my conversation with my son in the front seat of our SUV. In a few minutes I hear this man yelling and I turn around and look and he is trying to get this girl to stand up. She is now in the middle of an open dirt clearing. I was probably 30 yards away and could see she was pretty white. So there I go, Florence Nightengale to the rescue.

When all was said and done, we got the park rangers, who called the fire dept, who called the ambulance who then called for an air-lift transport. I am sure she had a concussion and was wondering if she had internal bleeding. They had her on oxygen which allowed her to answer our questions. Prior to that she was non responsive. The put an I.V. in and off she went. I have no idea who she was, or how things turned out. But, obviously, I was meant to be there at that particular time to help.

So looking at today, reading the paper, being on the computer, was indeed a quiet day.
No emergencies, not even with my new licensed teenager in my house.

Have a good day!

Hi Everyone,
Decided to change my look a little here and change my tune.
I think people want to talk about Health and Wellness. So, I
have years of first hand knowledge with geriatrics so lets
start giving some information, and asking some information.

Most of my career as a nurse has been with the elderly. I
love them like they are my own grandparents. Each day has
a different sadness, but also a different triumph. I have also
learned so much from each and everyone of my dear friends.

What are the biggest fears of getting old?
Loss of independence, loss of drivers license, loss of spouse, loss of home. The one we never seem to think of is loss of a child. Now, mix in loss of memory that you do not remember losing any of those and all you want is to go back to that happy place. That is what it feels like when you have any form of dementia.

One form of dementia is Alzheimer's Disease. Statistically every 71 seconds someone develops Alzheimer's Disease. Alzheimer's Disease is a brain disorder named for German physician Alois Alzheimer, who first described it in 1906. It is a progressive and fatal brain disease. As many as 5 million Americans are living with the disease which destroys brain cells. This causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior affecting work and social life.

The Alzheimer's Association has listed these stages:

• Stage 1: No impairment
• Stage 2: Very mild decline
• Stage 3: Mild decline
• Stage 4: Moderate decline (mild or early stage)
• Stage 5: Moderately severe decline (moderate or mid-stage)
• Stage 6: Severe decline (moderately severe or mid-stage)
• Stage 7: Very severe decline (severe or late stage)

Alzheimer's Disease is Always fatal.

My job is to make sure that I celebrate each and everyone of their life's daily. Live each day to the fullest and make sure they have a smile on their face. As a "caregiver" to them I will become one of the people they greatly depend on. They see me every day practically and I become a familiar person. Sometimes my name becomes an old friend, a daughter, a sister, I can be whomever they want me to be for the moment. They have times that they become very frustrated and angry, my job is to redirect them into a happier place. They do not want to be mean, or hit, it all takes time an extreme patience.

When you have a loved one at home it is a constant concern and many caregivers burn themselves out. Make sure you take care of yourself also. They need you to be healthy during this period of time.

Assisted Living is a good choice for your loved ones. There are ones that have Dementia designed areas designed for their type of activities. I work at one of those in California. To see what we are about check out this link aegisliving.com If you happen to be close to one of them stop in and check us out.

Now, if you have questions, please start asking and I will start answering to the best of my ability. First with experience then with research.

Thanks for stopping by!!