Liz and I’ve written previously about long distance caregiving, and Katelyn at Life Without Memories, mentioned Liz’s post.  She told about a friend who had to move and leave her mother behind in a nursing home, then asked for some tips for long distance caregiving. 
The dilemma arises when you must decide whether to move your Alzheimer’s family member closer to you, or leave them in a nursing or assisted living home where they have been living.  I can relate to Katelyn’s friend who had to move and debated whether to move her mom or leave her in the nursing home she was familiar with.  …read more

Juggling caregiving, family, and a career can stretch a caregiver almost to the limit.  This leads into one reason  for having a home business…you’re able to care for the family member without punching a time clock at a job.  You’re not juggling your work-away-from-home schedule with caring for them.
Katelyn at Life Without Memories gives us advantages (and disadvantages) for working at home when you have an Alzheimer’s family member.  She also refers to Laura at Writing Thoughts who tells about working at home and caring for her father with Alzheimer’s, as well as her family.
Even though you’ll still be juggling a job or career, you’re …read more

Katelyn Thomas’ innovative program to raise funds to “Stamp Out Alzheimer’s” now is posted on her site, Life Without Memories.  She is very concerned about proposed cuts in the federal budget for Alzheimer’s research.
So she’s been looking into ways we can use our artistic abilities to raise money for this purpose.  One of her suggestions is a swap with some type of artistic item such as a charm or artist’s trading card (ATC). 
For details, visit Katelyn’s Life Without Memories blog. 

There’s an interesting post at Life Without Memories about “Newer Isn’t Always Better.” We’re told that isn’t always to our advantage to purchase the latest gadgets and appliances for our family member with Alzheimer’s or for our home when they’re living there.  They may have great difficulty learning to use these items.
It’s also difficult for them to comprehend what these items are for and how to use them because they may be in an earlier era of their lives when modern implements didn’t exist.  For instance, as my mother asvanced in her Alzheimer’s journey, she probably would have known how …read more

Katelyn, posting on Life Without Memories (http://alzheimersadvocacy.com/2006/11/29/electric-blankets-are-a-safety-concern-for-alzheimers-patients/) mentions a very real danger when we’re caring for Alzheimer’s patients…letting them use an electric blanket.  She refers to an article that tells of an elderly Alzheimer’s patient experiencing burns, apparently by turning the electric blanket to “high” while her caregiver husband was sleeping. 
As an Alzheimer’s patient becomes more incapable, remembering how to use an electric blanket…and even what it’s for can become a challenge.  It falls under the same concern we have about letting this person operate an electric stove.
 

Katelyn, blogger of Life Without Memories and b5media’s Stamping Mad (www.stampingmad.com ), hosted the Carnival of Healing today.  Alzheimer’s Notes appeared as one of the featured blogs at this carnival at Life Without Memories(http://alzheimersadvocacy.com ), along with other Alzheimer’s and health related blogs.
Blog carnivals are a great way to find information on blogs you may or may not have visited before.  I’ve had a great time browsing around the blogs participating in this Carnival of Healing.