I know first hand and was very fortunate when my mom disappeared one morning in December when the weather, with wind chill was below zero.  I thought she was comfortably in bed, and would only wander around her kitchen and living room if she arose while I slept nearby.

I awoke and found Mother wasn’t in the house.  I looked out the front door into the blowing snow and wind.  I looked out the back door and called.  There was no sight of Mother, nor answering call.

I woke my husband and we both looked throughout the house, then put on our coats and boots.  As I opened the back door, I heard a faint, “Kitty, Kitty.  Here, Kitty.” 

There was Mother making her way up a slope beside the house. She had on a nightgown, slippers, sweather and scarf around her neck.  I rushed her inside.

“What were you doing outdoors?” I asked.

“Looking for Kitty.  I couldn’t find her.”

 ”Kitty’s here,” I replied, pointing to the cat stretched out in the rocking chair.

Then I added, “Mother it’s cold out there.  You could have frozen.”

“I’m not cold,” Mother insisted.  But she did agree to a hot cup of tea.

After she finished, and I had her in dry socks and slippers and a warm robe over her nightgown, she remarked, “I feel warmer now.”

That was when Jim and I decided we must take her to our home in another state.  What would have happened if we hadn’t been there?

Here’s an article with good tips, Act Before a Crisis To Prevent Those With Alzheimer’s Disease from Wandering, by Eric J. Hall in OurAlzheimer’s.com.

Post from: Blisstree

Winter Weather Warnings for Alzheimer’s Wanderers

My mom and aunt both wandered off, (on different occasions) trying to return to their girlhood home.  They were found shortly after they escaped from their caregivers.

A friend of ours was not so fortunate.  He left his wife at an appointment and failed to return for her.  Two weeks later his body was found in a woods about 100 miles from home.  He’d driven onto a woods road, gotten his car stuck in the mud, and wandered deeper into the forest.

We hear more and more nowadays about the use of electronic ‘”tagging” devices that will help when Alzheimer’s patients wander away.  However, there are people for and against the use of these. 

So I decided to run a poll at Alzheiemer’s Notes.  The results are in.

Question: Do you think Alzheimer’s patients should be electronically”tagged” for ease in finding them if they wander away from home or caregivers?  By far, the majority of those responding to the poll answered YES.

Yes – 80%

No-13%

Undecided – 7%

What do you think?  Leave your comments below.

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Results of “Should Alzheimer’s Patients Be Electronically Tagged?” Poll

- conceal and/or camouflage doors
- install locks and alarm systems
- put labels on doors explaining purpose of room, ie bathroom, kitchen, bedroom
- figure out when wandering is most likely to occur and distract the person with activities during this time
- reassure them that they are in the right place

But if these simple measures fail or seem too restrictive, there is a much more technical way of keeping track of the Alzheimer’s patient – the Columba bracelet. It looks like a watch but provides global positioning system (GPS) tracking.

As Mary Emma mentioned in her earlier post Should Alzheimer’s Patients Be Electronically Tagged, there is mixed reaction to the idea of tagging and tracking someone.

But the Columba bracelet allows the Alzheimer’s patient more freedom and liberty and could provide sole caregivers peace of mind. The caregiver can set a pre-defined geographic area and if the patient leaves this area, the device will automatically sound an alert.

This alerts the 24/7 medical assistance center who can locate the bracelet wearer through GPS and communicate not only with him or her but also immediately contact the family to organize rescue of the person with Alzheimer’s disease.

Let us know what your think of using such a device by leaving a comment and voting on our new poll Should Alzheimer’s Patients Be Electronically Tracked?

Post from: Blisstree

Columba Bracelet for wandering Alzheimer’s patients.

Created in the Netherlands in the 1970s, these multisensory rooms were originally designed for children and adults with serious mental disabilities. The ideas was to provide a soothing but stimulating environment for non-directive therapy. There was a place for everything in these rooms -from lava lamps and bubble tubes to home movies, interactive art, birds in cages, fish tanks, and colorful mobiles.

Today, many health professionals and caregiviers find that these rooms are a great place for Alzheimer’s patients suffering from agitation and the need to wander. The lighting, sounds, and smells can be adapted to the individual patient. In particular, it has been found to be most beneficial for patients suffering from ’sundowners syndrome’.

Want to know more. Check out these sites and articles:

A Room Comes Alive with Color and Sounds

Have you ever snoezelened?

An Adventure in Snoezelen Therapy

You’ve got the equipment, now how do you launch the program?

Snoezelen

Post from: Blisstree

Snoezelen Rooms for Alzheimer’s Patients.

Recently I came across this letter my mom wrote me after her sister with Alzheimer’s could no longer live with her.  Mother was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s herself by that time.  After Auntie escaped from Mother’s home several times, we decided it was time she had more secure care.

Mother visited her sister frequently and became very concerned as Auntie’s appetite and ability to swallow decreased.  Auntie, the older sister by five years, had  cared for Mother when they were younger.  Now it was Mother’s turn.  When Mother could no longer drive, we tried to ensure she had transportation for frequent visits to the nursing home 25 miles away.

Gradually Mother entrusted Auntie to my care when she could no longer make decisions.  She seemed aware of this difficulty because one day she asked me to take over the responsibility for Auntie (a divorcee with no children).

Bonds that form in early life in families often carry into the latter years.   Auntie, when she needed care in her Alzheimer’s days, came to live with my mom and dad, even though they weren’t in the best of health.  Now when I talk with family friends, who observed the threesome at church, shopping, going for a drive (when Mother still could drive),  marvel that Mother would take on the care of both an ailing husband and a sister with Alzheimer’s. 

They set an example, I discovered, of what family and friendship was all about.

Post from: Blisstree

Alzheimer’s Patients Caring for One Another

*Make sure you and your family members have made out a Living Will.  Then when a medical crisis arises and the Alzheimer’s patient can’t make a lucid decision (or any decision), you know what should be done.  You’re less likely to have a hassle from family or medical personnel.

My aunt didn’t have a Living Will.  When she could no longer swallow and a nasal tube wasn’t working for feeding, the medical personnel in charge asked my mom (her sister and closest relative) if she would like them to insert a feeding tube through my aunt’s stomach.  Mother, who was developing Alzheimer’s herself, said they should do this.

Later, when Auntie was in a vegetative state and Mother had asked me to be responsible for her care, I was told the tube couldn’t be removed.  I hadn’t asked that it be taken out, but wondered about options. 

*Plan with family members what to do in emergencies when you have an Alzheimer’s patient living in your home.  What do you do if they suddenly disappear?  Do they wear an ID bracelet or necklace?  Whom do you call?  What are the measures in your town for finding missing Alzheimer’s victims.

Fortunately when Auntie disappeared while living with Mother, a friend recognized her walking up the road in her orange bathrobe, about one half mile from home.  What if they hadn’t?  We didn’t know enough about Alzheimer’s at that time, the late 1980s, to have an emergency plan beforehand.

             *Do you have plans in place to prevent your Alzheimer’s family member from using a stove, when they no longer remember to turn off the burner?  We had to unplug the electric stove whenever we weren’t at home with Mother.

Learn all you can about this disease when it strikes a family member, to protect them whether they’re living by themselves or with you.  Try to think ahead about emergencies and try to prepare for them.

Sometimes the Alzheimer’s patient seems always one step ahead of you, but by admitting your family member has this illness and educating yourself, you will begin to prepare for the emergencies that can arise.

Post from: Blisstree

Emergency Preparedness for Alzheimer’s Patients

However, when I awoke Christmas morning (we were spending the holiday with her) and couldn’t find Mother, I became alarmed.  I looked out the front door and then the back, called and called.  I got Jim up and we scurried through the house.  No Mother.  Then we began piling on our outdoor clothes to venture into the near zero cold. 

When I opened the back door again, there was Mother plodding through a couple inches of snow up the slop from the garage, calling, “Kitty, Kittty, Kitty.”  She wore a sweater over her night gown, a scarf around her neck, socks and slippers.

I hurried her into the house, exclaiming, “Mother, you could have frozen.”

“I’m not cold,” she replied.  “I couldn’t find Kitty.”

At the sound of her name, Kitty stretched from the rocker where she’d been curled nice and warm.  (Whether she appeared there after Mother went outside or was there all the time, I don’t know.)  Mother also had circumvented the locks we’s placed on the doors in her foray outside to look for Kitty.

We knew then we had to take Mother home with us.  We could not leave her there, alone much of the time, when we were away.

So a few days after New Year’s, Mother, Kitty, Jim and I made our journey to New Hampshire to start out 1992 on a new adventure.

Post from: Blisstree

Starting the New Year with Mother & Alzheimer’s