Closet Disease
Keeping one’s illness, when it involved mental or emotional conditions, “in the closet” was common when I was growing up.  You only whispered about someone’s mental disorders.  Families tried to keep that person at home, while not literally “in a closet,” figuratively so.
You tried not to talk about Aunt Mollie who laughed at inappropriate times, wore her clothes backward, took walks in the middle of the night, or held conversations with people of the past.  Perhaps she even had to spend some time in a mental institution and have “shock” treatment, the common way of dealing with mental and …read more

AlzheimersNotes.com
Check out Carol Bradley Bursack’s blog and learn how to enter a drawing for her book, Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories.  You’ll need to take a survey about caregiving, but it’s easy and quick. 
Then your name will be entered into the random drawing for one of ten copies of Carol’s book.
(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen

AlzheimersNotes.com
Jugging caregiving of an Alzheimer’s family member with working at a job outside the home becomes a great challenge to many. 
 The income is needed while the care for one’s parent or spouse increases.  What are we to do?
Carol Bradley Bursack mentions The Employed Caregiver on her blog, Minding Our Elders and refers us to a very informative article on this topic, Caregiving Issues and the Workplace at AgingCare.com .
Caregivers are the most effective and efficient [at home and in the workplace] when they arm themselves with as much information as possible about their aging loved one’s current situation- both financial …read more

AlzheimersNotes.com
 Caring for Alzheimer’s patients often involves lifting, holding someone who can’t walk well, moving someone.  Much of this activity often results in back injuries.
Carol Bradley Bursack has an informative article, Caregiver Injuries: Avoid Them, at her Minding Our Elders site. 
Caregivers often need to learn how to lift and do many other things for those they care for. Sometimes, we can do it alone, sometimes we can’t.
She also refers to an article by Denise Clark, Preventing Injuries Among Caregivers.
I was fortunate that I didn’t experience injuries when caring for Mother and Auntie.  But there were instances when this might have …read more

AlzheimersNotes.com
 One of my fears, as my mom became less capable of making decisions and more susceptible to suggestions of strangers, was the possibility of her getting caught in contractor or other type of fraud.  For some reason, at a certain age or stage of Alzheimer’s, parents often resent taking suggestions from their children, especially advice concerning financial and health matters.
My husband Jim, who was a contractor, began making needed repairs to Mother’s house and put new shingles on the roof.  She didn’t understand why she needed a new roof even though the old was leaking into the attic space. 
We lived 275 …read more

 AlzheimersNotes.com
 At some point as Alzheimer’s disease progresses, the victim no longer can take care of finances, personal, and medical needs.  Even if family members can care for them, a caregiver often needs to have this made official.
Depending on individual circumstances, family and patient cooperation, as well as legal requirements in specific states, the degree to which you’ll need to go to manage patient care will vary.  For instance, my mom gave me power of attorney for her affairs.  That was all I needed, in our situation, while I was responsible for her care.  However, the power of attorney was requested …read more

 AlzheimersNotes.com
  Do you wonder sometimes what you can do to help a friend or family member caregiver as they care for the person with Alzheimer’s?  You sense they need help, but you’re uncertain what to ask or how to go about it.
Carol Bradley Bursack, at Minding Our Elders, recommends Because You Care by Kathryn Kilpatrick and Joanna Chernauskas.
 Because You Care is packed with simple ideas that can take a load off a caregiving friend. Things you may not think of on your own, because of their very simplicity.
Do you have suggestions for helping caregivers?
What do you find helpful from friends and family?
(c)2008 …read more

AlzheimersNotes.com 
We often refer to caregivers as “parenting their parents” and my book, written several years ago, is titled, When We Become the Parent to Our Parents.  This refers to the reversal in caregiving roles, when parents now need their adult children to be responsible for them or at least to assist them.
Carol Bradley Bursack, author of Minding Our Elders, has an interesting take on this concept in her article, Why “Role Reversal” and Other Catch Phrases Can Skew a Caregiver’s Thinking.  The love and respect for her parents shines through the words.
I strongly believe that no matter how many losses our elders suffer from …read more