I have been my Mom's full-time caregiver for 3 years and 3 months now and part-time caregiver 7 months prior to that. I have seen the gradual affects of Alzheimer's and have had to make adjustments accordingly. It is always my objective to keep Mom happy, healthy and safe but some days, she attempts to fight the status quo. I pray a lot for the strength to handle this situation but on difficult days (like yesterday), I go into extreme prayer mode. I do not want her to become frustrated nor do I want to be frustrated. Some days she forgets she is in her own home and begins to put on layers and layers of clothing. She says quite forcefully, "I am going home now." Sometimes a simple reminder that she is already at home helps. Her facial expression changes as if a light bulb has been turned on and she begins to look around. Then she responds, "What am I thinking, of course I am at home." She will then repeat her address over and over a few times, remove the clothing and pick up a book or sit and enjoy a TV show. Other times it is an entirely different story. Here is where the creativity comes in. When she won't remove the clothing or allow me to remove the clothing, I simply say, "Mom, are those my sweaters?" She will immediately begin to take the excess clothing off. In her mind she is still very independent and she KNOWS she has always been able to afford her own things, God bless her. She KNOWS she has her own clothes and does not want to ever bother things that belong to others. Then once she removes the many layers of clothes and moves to the closet for coats I simply say, "You know Mom, in order to go home, you have to have a good breakfast." She always spoke to us about the benefits of a good breakfast so those words seem to trigger something. Once she sits down to eat, I can administer her morning pills. I must call these the "morning vitamins" because she can relate to vitamins but she refuses to relate to the words 'medication' or 'pills' as she has been against that concept all her life and never needed any basically until just before the onset of the Alzheimer's. One of the meds, helps to keep her calm. I usually give 1/2 with breakfast and 1/2 with dinner just because that normally works well. But on the days when she starts out being a little rambunctious, I administer the entire pill with breakfast. Then usually, the rest of the day is great for the both of us. So if you are a Caregiver or become one, I encourage you to be prayerful, patient and by all means, creative. Call upon others to give you a break if you begin to feel overwhelmed. THANK YOU RANDY FOR GIVING ME A BREAK YESTERDAY AND TO YOU AND PHYLLIS FOR THE HELP ON TUES. & THURS. Caregivers are a blessing and God sees all you are doing for your loved one so be encouraged.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Creativity Combats Confusion
I have been my Mom's full-time caregiver for 3 years and 3 months now and part-time caregiver 7 months prior to that. I have seen the gradual affects of Alzheimer's and have had to make adjustments accordingly. It is always my objective to keep Mom happy, healthy and safe but some days, she attempts to fight the status quo. I pray a lot for the strength to handle this situation but on difficult days (like yesterday), I go into extreme prayer mode. I do not want her to become frustrated nor do I want to be frustrated. Some days she forgets she is in her own home and begins to put on layers and layers of clothing. She says quite forcefully, "I am going home now." Sometimes a simple reminder that she is already at home helps. Her facial expression changes as if a light bulb has been turned on and she begins to look around. Then she responds, "What am I thinking, of course I am at home." She will then repeat her address over and over a few times, remove the clothing and pick up a book or sit and enjoy a TV show. Other times it is an entirely different story. Here is where the creativity comes in. When she won't remove the clothing or allow me to remove the clothing, I simply say, "Mom, are those my sweaters?" She will immediately begin to take the excess clothing off. In her mind she is still very independent and she KNOWS she has always been able to afford her own things, God bless her. She KNOWS she has her own clothes and does not want to ever bother things that belong to others. Then once she removes the many layers of clothes and moves to the closet for coats I simply say, "You know Mom, in order to go home, you have to have a good breakfast." She always spoke to us about the benefits of a good breakfast so those words seem to trigger something. Once she sits down to eat, I can administer her morning pills. I must call these the "morning vitamins" because she can relate to vitamins but she refuses to relate to the words 'medication' or 'pills' as she has been against that concept all her life and never needed any basically until just before the onset of the Alzheimer's. One of the meds, helps to keep her calm. I usually give 1/2 with breakfast and 1/2 with dinner just because that normally works well. But on the days when she starts out being a little rambunctious, I administer the entire pill with breakfast. Then usually, the rest of the day is great for the both of us. So if you are a Caregiver or become one, I encourage you to be prayerful, patient and by all means, creative. Call upon others to give you a break if you begin to feel overwhelmed. THANK YOU RANDY FOR GIVING ME A BREAK YESTERDAY AND TO YOU AND PHYLLIS FOR THE HELP ON TUES. & THURS. Caregivers are a blessing and God sees all you are doing for your loved one so be encouraged.
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