Alzheimer’s Notes.com 
Many of you probably have a dog in your life.  Perhaps this pet helps entertain your Alzheimer’s patient.  Also, a dog may entertain you and help relieve the stress of your hectic days.  Dogs also are welcomed in many nursing homes where they provide therapy for the residents.
When Mother lived in her home, there was Tiny, who ate so much she became roly-poly.  In our multi-generational home in New Hampshire, we have Ginger.  She loves to romp in the  snow, but her paws get cold.
So when I read this post at Jen’s Domestik Goddess, How to Teach a Dog to Wear Boots, I simply …read more

Don’t think you’ll ever be interviewed?  Never say “Never!”
With Alzheimer’s so prominently in the news, caregivers and administrators may find themselves the subject of interviews.  Those who write about Alzheimer’s and caregiving often are in the news or interviewed online.
The next question…“What do I do if someone wants to interview me?”
You’ll find 5 great tips at the b5media Business Channel’s Home Biz Notes (5 Top Tips for Newspaper Interviews) with further expansion at Pimp Your Work (Top 5 Interview Tips). 
Part 3 of the Business Channel’s “Apprentice” type challenge consisted of our giving interview tips to Kay whose prototype business  supplies chef’s hats and …read more

Quilters at the DeKalb County Nursing Home will donate a quilt to the Northern Illinois University’s Blackwell History of Education Museum.  The quilt, titled DeKalb County One-Room Schoolhouse Quilt, consists of  nine  squares, picturing one-room schoolhouses of DeKalb County.
Pat Barger, a volunteer at the nursing home, constructed the quilt along with 13 other quilters who meet at the nursing home weekly.  Check out the link above to learn more about the quilt and the one-room schoolhouses of DeKalb County. 

I’ve posted a new poll where you can let us know where your interests lie regarding Alzheimer’s.  The question is:
What would you like to read about on this Alzheimer’s information blog?
Choices:
*Encouragement and tips for caregivers
*Research into causes and cures
*Nursing home related issues
*Alzheimer’s disease around the world
If you take time to make a choice on this poll, it will help us know what information you’re looking for.

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

Nursing home residents and Alzheimer’s patients often don’t receive mail even though they would like to be remembered at mail time.  Those in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s, when they still can comprehend, do enjoy letters, postcards, and cards.  
My mom, when she had Alzheimer’s and resided in a nursing home, enjoyed looking at cards and notes.  She also collected cards from other residents and thought they’d been sent to her!  We read them together and then returned the cards.   
In a recent article, “Letters Welcomed by Nursing Home Residents,” that I wrote for Inky Trail News, a print publication, I related my experiences about writing to nursing home residents,  …read more

“Look at that old lady with the doll,” Mother remarked.  “How silly.”
This occurred when I took Mother to visit the nursing home I would be using for day care for her.  She wasn’t so advanced in her Alzheimer’s journey that she didn’t know where she was, even though I’d said I was taking her to meet some friends.
However, in Mother’s later Alzheimer’s years, she did find comfort in holding a stuffed toy.  She never talked to it and played with dolls and toys as some Alzheimer’s patients do.  I recall her saying, that in childhood, her sister played with dolls …read more

“Mary, we have to do something about your mother.  She nearly broke the aide’s wrist when we tried to get her into the shower,” remaked the administrator of a nursing home when I picked Mother up after a weekend stay.  (At this point in Mother’s journey through Alzheimer’s, she lived with me but stayed at a nursing home weekends when I was away.)
I realized Mother was living in an era before she’d had a shower in her home.  She probably didn’t realize what this thing was that poured water onto her. Or perhaps she thought she was outdoors in the rain.  Most recently, Mother …read more

                       Alzheimer’s patients often enjoy listening to music or having it in the background.  What about playing some Valentine’s Day or “hearts and flowers” songs?
Often, when I visited Mother in the nursing home, there was music playing…sometimes it was related to a current holiday.  It might be “oldies” from the residents’ childhood or young adult years.
I found that Mother, who’d often sung as she did her house and farm work, liked to hum along with these tunes.  I might think she wasn’t aware of this music in her room or the activity room.  Then suddenly she’d tap her fingers in …read more

Alzheimer’s patients at a nursing home in New Hampshire have been sending notes and care packages to Marines in Iraq.   Through this unique program, the staff has found a way to help patients overcome their anxiety when they hear about the war and to help them feel useful.
These include patients who have served in the military themselves or remember stateside experiences during war time.  Through participating in Soldiers’ Angels, they can make a difference and help military men and women serving their country.