Pets of many kinds help entertain and bring a smile to the lips of Alzheimer’s patients.  I saw my mom develop an affinity for a cat and dog she never had before.  They became almost the center of her life.  When we had to move her to our home 275 miles from where she was living, we brought her cat.  This helped Mother adjust much better than if we’d found another home for Kitty.

When Mother lived at the nursing home, I saw how residents responded to the cats and dogs that visited on “pet day.”  Perhaps the animal reminded them of a pet they recently had.  Or it might bring back memories of a pet from childhood.

However, dogs can serve another purpose, as related at Alzheimer’s Weekly in She Changed Our Lives.  Here, Roberta Bienenfeld tells the story of Nyja, an Alzheimer’s Assistance Dog and how she has helped Jerry Alexander become more active again. 

This concept of Alzheimer’s Assistance Dogs is connected with Canine Companions for Independence (CCI) and enables the Alzheimer’s patient to be more independent and more animated (in a positive way).  Read Jerry and Jan Alexander’s story and learn how Nyja added brightness to an otherwise bleak future.  Nyja didn’t solve all Jerry’s challenges by any means, but enables him to be more mobile and for Jan to be less house bound.  They even went on an Alaskan cruise with Nyja. 

(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

Post from: Blisstree

Assistance Dogs for Alzheimer’s Patients

*We forget to eat well ourselves. 

*If there are children in the household (one of those sandwiched generation caregiver situations with three generations on board), we may get too busy to make sure their meals and snacks are always well balanced. 

*Then there’s Mom or Dad who’ve become picky eaters anyway…or want to eat all the wrong foods.

This is not to say we shouldn’t have those holiday treats.  But what about checking out these Tips for Healthy Holiday Eating at Grace’s Kids Health Notes blog?

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Healthy Holiday Eating for Caregivers, Kids & Patients

Part One

Part Two

Post from: Blisstree

Dr Peter Whitehouse talks about Alzheimer’s

“Your mother needs a flu shot,”

Mother had only had one flu shot in her life, when my dad was alive.  They both got sick from it…”colds” as they called them, so vowed never again.  However, I thought more about it as the nurse explained that in the nursing home Mother would encounter more people (residents as well as visitors) who might have the flu than when she had mainly stayed at home.

So I decided to go ahead and agree to the flu shot.  Mother had no adverse reaction to it and stayed healthy all winter when everyone around her was ill.  For the next seven years, as long as she lived, she got the flu shot and remained well, except perhaps for a few sniffles.  The staff remarked that she must have a wonderful immune system.

Scott, in his post, Flu Season Approaches, at Health and Men, got me thinking about flu season as it applies to Alzheimer’s patients.  He explained that not every flu shot seems to give the same reaction and different people also react differently.   Scott also provides a few links to give you more information about flu shots.

Laura Spencer at Work From Home Momma also wrote a very informative post about flu shots, Should You Get a Flu Shot?

Flu shots are something you’ll have to decide for yourself and the Alzheimer’s patient (if they can no longer make their own decisions).  Also, while you’re considering, find out about pneumonia shots, too.  Our doctor recommended these for my husband and me.

Post from: Blisstree

Should Alzheimer’s Patients Get Flu Shots?

Also mentioned here are suggestions for preparing family members who haven’t seen the Alzheimer’s patient for some time.

Sit down and have a cup of tea…that often was a pleasure I enjoyed with Mother.  It relaxed both of us and brought back memories.                                            Do you have tips you can share that have worked  to decrease stress for you, your family member, and those who may visit?

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Tips for Handling Holiday Stress

It’s called ‘Recommend-a-Doc’.

Check it out…

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Want to recommend an Alzheimer’s Doctor…