This time of year, throughout the month of August, the “back-to-school” idea is in many people’s minds….students who will be attending school of some type, parents involved in getting them ready, and caregivers  juggling school schedules and caring for Alzheimer’s grandparents.
This will involve more planning and scheduling for caregivers of the sandwich generation as their generally flexible or relaxed days of summer disappear and they coexist with school schedules.  And Grandma or Grandpa may have no idea of schedule, needing attention just when school activities and homework also require your time.
When I cared for my mom, I had no children at home.  However, those …read more

Mother would sit in her rocking chair beside the kitchen stove reading the newspaper, a magazine or a book as she rested between chores on the farm.  The sink might be piled with dirty dishes, the kitchen table needed to be set for supper. A basket of clothes should be sorted or ironing done.  A kitten poked its head from beneath the stove.  Old Shep lay at her feet.   
Mother looked around, “I know.  There’s work to do.  But it will always be there.  And I won’t always have time to read.”
It was frustrating for a teenager and later a young married woman when …read more

Here’s another book that’s made it’s way onto my list of ‘must reads’.
People react to the death of a loved one in many ways. Lauren Kessler’s way was to try and understand more about the disease that killed her mother. To do so, she got a job as a caregiver at a residential Alzheimer’s facility in Oregon. Her book, Dancing with Rose, documents her time spent there as a caregiver to patients with various degrees of Alzheimer’s.
Read these essays by Lauren…
Bridging the Gap
Seeing Instead of Watching
Check out these book reviews…
Life in the land of Alzheimer’s
Seeing Mom’s Humanity First, Instead …read more

Stress, frustration, discouragement all contribute to the life of an Alzheimer’s caregiver, along with those glipmses of joy and bursts of humor that find their way into the day, too.  Liz, in her post, How Stressed Are You from Caring for an Alzheimer’s Patient?, gives us resources for dealing with caregiver stress.
Sharing with others, hearing about their experiences, and looking at Alzheimer’s care from their viewpoint also helps us when we think we can’t go another day.  I enjoy so much, Kathy’s stories, at her KnowItalz blog, about the lighter side of caring for her dad with Alzheimer’s.  I know I …read more

Here’s a video well worth watching. Filmed by the grandson of an Alzheimer’s patient, it show the face of Alzheimer’s disease in a humorous, factual, and heart touching way.

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.

“I fed Esther her lunch.  Very difficult as she didn’t seem to care if she ate or not.  Patiently I worked at it and got her to eat quite a bit of chicken,” my mother wrote about a visit to see her sister in a nursing home.   
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 …read more

Congratulations, Cathy!  She stayed awake 24 hours, blogging to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association.  Cathy’s goal was $500.  She surpassed that goal, raising $551!
If you’d like to know what a blogathon is all about and read what participants blog, check out Cathy’s blog, Cathy’s Rants and Ramblin’s,  http://arthritisrants.blogspot.com . 
Throughout the duration, Cathy chatted about Alzheimer’s and how it affected the whole family, what Alzheimer’s is, and her experiences with her mom.  She even mentioned this blog and how some of her and my experiences with our mothers are similar. There also are other topics she blogged about to keep her self …read more