AlzheimersNotes.com 
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 …read more

An article in the LATimes, by Al Martinez, Realistic and sad, a man faces the darkness of Alzheimer’s, relates the story of Buddy Epstein, who, at 58,  has been diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.  He has given up practicing law, after 32 years, and copes with the increasing loss of memory.
“My future is dwindling away,” he comments when asked if he’s afraid of the days ahead.
Al Martinez’s younger sister had this disease, too, so this explains his great interest in promoting awareness and the Sunday Alzheimer’s Walk through downtown LA, where he and Buddy Epstein discussed the ramifications of Alzheimer’s.
If you want …read more

Caring for a parent or spouse stricken with Alzheimer’s, a stroke, or some other medical condition  presents a challenge for family members.  Sometimes this is solved agreeably with everyone contributing their share.  In other cases, there is  great deal of controversy, often with one family member providing most of the care.
At the San Luis Obispo County website, we learn about Martha and Catherine Talavera, Siblings Take on the Challenge of Caring for Their Ailing Mother.  When their mother, Frances,  experienced several strokes and needed full time care, the sisters responded by changing their lives and all three living in Catherine’s home.  Martha …read more

When we can learn from Alzheimer’s patients/victims what it’s like to live with the disease…what they encounter, what frustrates them, what annoys them, what pleases them, how we can best interact with them…we’ll know much better how to care for them. 
I so often tried to discover what it was like inside Mother’s mind and thus understand what she was facing…where she was (what era) that day, who she thought I was, what she liked and disliked.  If we could have talked about her disease while she was able to communicate verbally, it would have helped us both.  But I didn’t …read more

I discovered Norma Selbie, Marilyn Truscott, and Cynthia Williams while wandering through cyberspace the other day. They had all spoken at the 23rd National Alzheimer’s Society Conference in Halifax, NS in April 2001 about what it was like to live with Alzheimer’s disease.
These speeches may be a few years old but they still speak volumes about what it’s like to have Alzheimer’s disease.
Read Norma, Marilyn, and Cynthia’s speeches to get more insight into what life with Alzheimer’s disease is really like.

Visit the Living Through Windows…Alzheimer’s disease to learn about the residents of Third Phillips ward on the third floor of the Grand Islands Veteran Home in Nebraska. This ward is home to veterans suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. The website showcases their stories, as well as the stories of the families, the caregivers, and the staff.
Created by Mike Bockoven and Scott Kingsley, Living Through Windows is a fantastic and moving multimedia presentation profiling the patients, families, and staff at Third Phillips.

Among those recognized at Buckboard Quilts’ Charity Quilt Day are makers of quilts for Alzheimer’s patients.  For Judy Howard, of Buckboard Quilts, is culminating National Quilt Month (March)  by designating March 29 as Charity Quilt Day.
“This is a campaign to raise awareness and funding for the sacrificial volunteer work of hundreds of thousands of quilters who provide quilts for sick babies, orphans, homeless people, nursing homes, cancer and Alzheimer’s patients, soldiers and victims of disaster – those most in need of the touch of God’s love and comfort that quilts represent.”
This event will climax a month of quilting events, including those surrounding Centennial Stitches …read more

When my mom entered the nursing home, among the admission paperwork and medical history, was a questionnaire about her likes and dislikes, family background, career, where she’d lived, etc.  Also, the dieticians wanted to know about any food allergies, of course.  They also wanted me to list her favorite foods and those she disliked.
Eventually, they asked me to put together a small photo album with pictures of family members, as well as her most recent home and girlhood home, if possible.
All of this helped the staff know my mom better and hopefully care for her better.  I felt this showed …read more

With the growing need for assisted living and nursing home accommodations, families often are puzzled when it comes to making a choice.  They hear horror stores, as well as pleasing ones about treatment residents have received. 
I was fortunate that all my family members, and my husband’s parents, who needed either assisted living or nursing home care, received good treatment.  There were minor complaints…such as one person finding fault with the food and desiring to help the chef cook.  But she admitted she couldn’t taste food like she once did, whether at the assisted living, in restaurants, or when still in …read more

The tendency to escape…from home, the nursing home, daycare….is common with Alzheimer’s patients.  Most seem to develop a cleverness when it comes to circumventing locks and hooks on doors.  They even learn to slip into an elevator when the door opens, then descend to the main floor of a nursing home or apartment where they can proceed outside.
You may hear on the news how a patient got outside and wandered away from a nursing home or their home. They seem to have some instinct, some radar, that tells them when someone isn’t in the room.
I had trouble with Auntie and Mother …read more