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 had to share it with my daughter, friends who have dogs, and my Alzheimer’s Notes readers.   This may be something you’d like to try with your dog if you live in northern climates.  At any rate, most everyone will enjoy Jen’s photos, whether they have a dog or not.

(Incidentally, Jen mentions in the About section of her blog that her dogs are therapy dogs and visit old folks’ homes with her.  I wonder…with boots and all?)

Have  you ever tried boots on your dog?

(c)2007 Mary Emma Allen

Post from: Blisstree

The Lighter Side of Alzheimer’s Caregiving

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 aprons for kids.  A newspaper reporter has asked Kay for an interview; she  wondered what to expect and how to prepare.

The tips are fairly general.  So if you’re asked for an interview from a newspaper reporter or magazine columnist, you should find most of these helpful, even if you’re not operating a business.

If you’ve been interviewed, perhaps you have some other tips to share.

(Interviews via e-mail for online publications are a different story, but very popular nowadays.)

Post from: Blisstree

5 Interview Tips for the Alzheimer’s Caregiver or Nursing Home Administrator

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. 

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Quilters at DeKalb County Nursing Home Donate One-Room School Quilt

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.

Post from: Blisstree

New Poll at Alzheimer’s Notes

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 her own home.

On the other side of the spectrum, we encounter reports like the one Mona Johnson refers to on The Tangled Neutron, a layperson’s input about dementia and eldercare.  Mona discusses an article in Forbes that analyzes the nursing and assisted living situation.

With the increasing senior population, the need for more senior care and need for more nursing and assisted living homes, as well as staff, we are reaching a situation where most of these residences will be run by larger corporations rather than by a family or small organization.  Families of Alzheimer’s patients will need resources to research which are best for their relative.         Since everyone is different, families differ, and situations do, there is not one right choice for everyone.  Research and learn, ask questions, and become involved in your family member’s care.

Post from: Blisstree

Concern Over Nursing Homes for Alzheimer’s Patients

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,  This started many years ago, when I realized how much my letters and poetry meant to an elderly relative.  Upon his death, his sister wrote and told me how much the letters cheered her brother.

My mom also acquired a pen pal, although Mother couldn’t write her back.  Phyllis was a teacher who wrote to teachers in nursing homes.  Until Mother’s death, the cards came from Phyllis every holiday, birthday, and special occasion.  Although Mother didn’t know Phyllis, she would ask me to read them and was pleased someone in her career field took time to remember her.

Since the Inky Trail News article appeared, I’ve had inquiries from readers who were touched by it and wondered how they could bring cheer to nursing home residents this way.  Contact a nursing home near you and see if they can arrange a pen pal group…or suggest someone you could “adopt.” 

Sometimes you can make cards for your nursing home pen pal.  If the Alzheimer’s patients are still adept enough, you might volunteer to help them make cards and write notes for special occasions.

Post from: Blisstree

Alzheimer’s Patients Enjoy Receiving Mail

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 more than she.  So some glimmer of those years…her likes and dislikes, may have stayed with her so that stuffed bears were more to her liking as Alzheimer’s advanced.

Many Alzheimer’s patients do find a fondness for dolls and comfort in talking to them.  A letter to the editor The Pittsburg Post-Gazette.com, “Dolls enhance Alzheimer’s patient’s happiness,” relates the story of the comfort one person finds from dolls.

Post from: Blisstree

Dolls and Stuffed Toys for Alzheimer’s Patients

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 had been “sponge bathing,” the way they washed when she was growing up. 

Bathing can be disturbing for Alzheimer’s patients, particularly as they progress into more advanced stages.  Some even develop a fear of water…whether associated with a swimming event or simply not knowing what a shower is for.

Jed Levine, of the New York City Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, writes in his column for the Queens Courier Online, about Alzheimer’s disease and bathing.  He gives a number of bathing tips that should help you understand what the Alzheimer’s patient is going through and how, hopefully, to prevent bathing time from becoming a battle.

Post from: Blisstree

Interesting Discussion on Alzheimer’s & Bathing

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 time to the tune and begin humming.

Valentine’s Day is a delightful day to share music with Alzheimer’s patients you visit or those you’re caring for.

 When words have lost their meaning to Alzheimer’s patients, try music and art.

Post from: Blisstree

Share Music With Alzheimer’s Patients

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.

Post from: Blisstree

Alzheimer’s Patients Send Letters to Marines