He started off every day angry, and his mood never got much better. Charlie was 92 years old and had Alzheimer’s disease for some time now. He could still respond when asked a question, and always answered no when asked if he had any pain. Charlie’s son said he had always been a happy man [...]
Grace was so stressed by taking care of her husband Frank that she was beginning to have health issues of her own. Frank by all accounts was a “handful.” Frank had Alzheimer’s disease. He was in the early stage and still able to dress and bathe independently. But, because he had such a lack of [...]
Writing a life Mission Statement. When you are hired for a new job, the first thing the company does is give you a copy of their mission statement. The mission statement will contain the purpose of the organization, aims of the organization, and states who the involved parties are – the clients or customers. McDonald’s [...]
A great bed will be a fully electric bed. A bed that goes very low to the floor as well as elevates to waist height for the comfort of the caregiver. When the bed can go low, close to the floor, the elder is less at risk for falls out of bed and less at [...]
When continuing treatment is pointless, who determines it is time to stop? Arlene was 87 years old and had suffered significant decline in the past year cognitively as well as functionally. But the last four months had been nothing short of a nightmare. Arlene was in a house fire and sustained burns over 50% of [...]
(PART III) Louise could just as easily have developed Shingles after her emotional stress. (See part I) All of the potential was there. Louise had had Chickenpox as a child. Only people who have had Chickenpox get shingles, as it is the same virus. After having Chickenpox the virus lies dormant in your nervous system, [...]
Carl never really studied art, but that doesn’t hold him back these days from painting. Sometimes he paints for hours, over and over on the same tree, grass, sky or clouds. He is so engrossed that he rarely speaks and forgets to eat as well. His wife Barb just interrupts with the suggestion of a [...]
Helping the confused elderly through cues. Oxford Dictionary defines cue as” a signal to do something.” The cue may be a smell, a touch, a sound, an item, or a visual symbol. Using a full complement of cues through out the day can help the confused elderly understand the environment, and what is happening at [...]
WHEN THE ELDER WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE NO LONGER RECOGNIZES THEIR FAMILY Now it has happened to me my mother doesn’t always recognize me. After visiting my mother Verona in a nursing home, where she has lived for the past 12 years, at times she looks at me with a blank stare. She tries and struggles [...]
Is it now standard practice that you move into a nursing home, you are immediately assigned a wheelchair? When you visit a nursing home, how many elderly people do you see still walking? It may start on admission, where the wheelchair just seems to come with your room. Or it may begin when you are [...]
EQUIPMENT: Elder’s personal soap Incontinent product/underwear Deodorant Comb/brush Electric razor/straight razor Clothes Elder’s personal lotion Shoes Personal items – watch / hair assessories/jewellery SET-UP: Two wash cloths – one to soap and one to rinse Towels Anti-slip mat Run water until it is warm, plug sink – continue to run small amount of warm water [...]
He started off every day angry, and his mood never got much better. Charlie was 92 years old and had Alzheimer’s disease for some time now. He could still respond when asked a question, and always answered no when asked if he had any pain. Charlie’s son said he had always been a happy man [...]
Results of Laxative abuse in the elderly. Many elders abuse laxatives without realizing their regular use is abusive. The elder may be under the assumption that in order to be “regular” they must have a bowel movement every day. Regular use of laxatives makes the intestinal muscles flabby or referred to as a “Lazy bowel.” [...]
Grace was so stressed by taking care of her husband Frank that she was beginning to have health issues of her own. Frank by all accounts was a “handful.” Frank had Alzheimer’s disease. He was in the early stage and still able to dress and bathe independently. But, because he had such a lack of [...]
Know the elders routine. Do you drink your coffee first thing in the morning or with breakfast? Do you get dressed before breakfast or after? There is so much comfort in having your own routine, doing things the same way at the same time. Everyone has an established routine. You like to do things in [...]
Make the mealtime experience as simple as possible for the caregiver as well as the elder with dementia. The activity of eating is the most important activity of the day. And it is certainly true that when cooking, everyone can be right “in the moment” with the person with Alzheimer’s disease. So cooking and eating [...]
When all is said and done, the best prevention always turns out to be good old soap and water. Whether it is for washing hands or surfaces, soap and water still are the best. Hand washing: First line of defense! Every time we have an in-service at our Nursing Home, on preventing infection, we always [...]
No more 911 calls from confused elderly: I absolutely love my new edition of The Alzheimer’s Store Catalogue. As I skim through it I can see, in my mind, those people from the past that would have benefited so much from some of these innovative products. Right from the first few pages – imagine a [...]
(PART I) This blog was first posted in April of 2010 – in the light of Nancy Reagan(now 90) tripping on the evening news last night- I thought to re-post it. Was that trip predictable? Maybe if she can no longer see tripping hazards in her path and the person assisting her is not looking [...]
Many times an elderly person will intentionally stop drinking water, because they don’t want to make so many trips to the bathroom. They just get in the habit of never drinking more than a sip. The elder may already be dehydrated and not even notice they are thirsty. 12 Reasons everyone needs water: Water is [...]
(Part II) In the past when an elderly person experienced changes in behavior or increased confusion, the health care community collectively thought that this was normal; after all you’re getting old. How many times has a doctor said to a family member “What do you expect at his age, he’s getting old.” Addressing the behavior [...]
Bertha had been so sure she was ready to “go home.” Why anyone could see she had lost a considerable amount of weight since being in the nursing home. Even her doctor was calling the changes in her nothing short of amazing. Bertha had come to the nursing home from the hospital following a fall [...]
(Part V) It is never too late for a Therapy base line assessment. If it wasn’t done at the start of symptoms, it can be done now. As with every other discipline in the Nursing Home, the key here is a “change in condition.” If you have not written down what the current level of; [...]
Everyone’s name is important to them. There can be power in a name. There is power in the name “Jesus”. I remember when it was in the news that Elvis was in a concert and a row of girls held up a banner saying “Elvis is King.” Elvis stopped the concert and said “No, Jesus [...]
Nurses know when the elderly person no longer moves independently, they will need to be extra vigilant in their skin care. Nurses know: Preventing wounds is much easier than healing them An elderly person can develop a pressure wound in 2-6 hours of not changing position A pressure wound is painful Healing a pressure wound [...]
“Help, help, I can’t get up,” Vera called out to her sleeping husband. Vera was used to waking up around 3 a.m. and reading for an hour before going back to bed. But that night after sitting for an hour at the kitchen table, when Vera tried to stand up to walk back to bed [...]
When continuing treatment is pointless, who determines it is time to stop? Arlene was 87 years old and had suffered significant decline in the past year cognitively as well as functionally. But the last four months had been nothing short of a nightmare. Arlene was in a house fire and sustained burns over 50% of [...]
Aging vision needs much more light: “Why are you turning the lights on already” Carl’s wife asked. “Oh, it’s going to get dark soon” He replied. This from the man who went behind her for years turning off lights when she just stepped out of a room for a minute. He wasn’t even aware of [...]
