August 4, 2020
It was entertainment night at the Senior Citizens’ Center. After the community sing-along led by Alice at the piano, it was time for the star of the show – Claude the Hypnotist! Claude explained that he was going to put the whole audience into a trance. “Yes, each and every one of you and all at the same time,” said Claude. The excited chatter dropped to silence
August 3, 2020
The caregiving experience can become better. “When you change the way, you look at something that something changes.” Understand why. Our conscious mind is the director. It makes decisions and responds to our environment and the actions of our other mind. Our subconscious receives this information, retains it and acts upon it automatically, it’s the program. Imagining and visualization are conscious acts which send information to our
July 28, 2020
Reablement is a word in an article about John Quinn, who was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s at 56, and how he slows and reverses his symptoms. John went through years of darkness until he decided to begin living his life to the fullest. (Australian Journal of Dementia Care, “Putting Reablement into Practice”, March 27, 2020) https://journalofdementiacare.com/putting-reablement-into-practice/ I like the word, reablement, to regain the ability. This article
July 25, 2020
This particular topic is seldom featured in the literature on dementia, and I think it should be. It’s about toileting and hygiene and primarily about the ladies. I worked as a home caregiver for a time, and in the beginning, one of the hardest aspects of care was the toileting of the person who could no longer do this for themselves. I’ve always been hypersensitive to smells,
July 22, 2020
As a 71-year-old early Baby Boomer, I’ve been concerned about the present eldercare system for a long time. It is slowly beginning to change but not fast enough for most of us. Person-Centered care, dementia villages, and holistic principals for senior living are part of that change. But the majority of the eldercare facilities remain stuck in the past of catering to the post-WWII generation. I live
July 21, 2020
Ann grew up with an alcoholic father. He beat her mother and began abusing her when she was twelve years old, and it continued until she left home at sixteen. She’s now 55, her mother recently passed away, and after several years of therapy, she has been trying to develop a relationship with her 85-year-old father. He has Alzheimer’s, and Ann moved in with him to take
July 20, 2020
Elaine had Alzheimer’s and was in the memory care of the facility where I held my weekly picture communication workshops. Elaine thought she was a teenager and had forgotten she was married with two grown children. She had a crush on one of the other residents and called him her “boyfriend.” Elaine and her boyfriend would often hold hands and walk the hallways giggling and whispering to
