Life of Brian an Alzheimer's Caregiver

Going Home

2011-04-06T15:22:00.000-05:00

I first saw this video in the Alzheimer's Reading Room. Imagine yourself in this woman's shoes, imagine this happening to you all day, every day! How would you want to be treated? What would you want people to do to help you? As a caregiver, what can you do to relieve the stress and panic that your loved one experiences on a daily basis? Please watch and leave your comments.

When Alzheimer's gets Violent

2011-03-31T11:15:00.003-05:00

CNN recently posted and article on Alzheimer's and Violence. This is an interesting article with good advice. Click on title for link to article.

Forgive me readers, for I have not posted in two months

2011-02-11T14:24:00.000-06:00

It has been almost two months since my last posting. I will not make excuses, or bore you with multiple reasons why. Whether I have excuses or not does, not change the fact that I was negligent in my duties, and promises to provide a quality blog, with quality information, and stories about caring for someone with Alzheimer's disease. Speaking of which Bill is doing well for the most part.

Christmas was good for everyone, we spent everyday for about 3 weeks leading up to Christmas explaining over and over again why we have not opened or delivered the Christmas presents yet. This involved saying "Bill, It is not Christmas yet, we still have 3 more weeks, 20 more days, 17 more days, etc." over and over again several times a day. However, I will say I have not seen so much hype and anxiety about Christmas from anyone since I was a kid, than I did with Bill waiting for Christmas.

Christmas came and went, we ushered in a new year, crowned a new College Football champion, survived NFL playoffs, and watched a fairly good Super Bowl. We witnessed it snowing 4 or 5 different times here in Alabama which is a very uncommon ordeal. It has to be that Global Warming Crap all the Democratic Doomsayers have been crying and lying about for so long. Oh wait, it is no longer Global Warming since that was proven a lie, now it is Climate Change! Oh well, don't get me started on that mess.

Back to Bill, we bought a new exercise bike that he can get on and ride, and has been doing extremely well on it. It is a recumbent bike, so he is able to sit in it very much like a chair and start pedaling. Much better than the exercise bikes with the traditional bike sit that is equivalent to getting a daily prostate exam. His first day on the bike he struggled to go .30 miles. Yesterday he did .75 miles traveling about 9 miles an hour. He is proud of himself and I have noticed him walking a little bit better, at first he was reluctant and did not want to do it, now he talks about wanting to do it, and wants to beat what he did the day before. We were originally going to purchase a treadmill, but he Doctor advised against it and suggested the bike, and I wanted the bike for my big ole . . .Never mind.

Our biggest struggle as of late has been with Bill's ability to use the bathroom. We still have to tell him every single time where the bathroom is (and I do not expect that fact to change). But now, Bill is urinating down the front of his pants when he goes to the bathroom, we are finally convincing him to sit down to urinate now, but now he either fails to tuck towards the water and ends up urinating over or under the toilet seat and into his diaper and pants that are around his ankles on the floor. For the past week or two he has been sitting down to go, but when he is done, he will pull his pants up, and leave his diaper down around his knees, and comes to me to fix it for him.

Has anyone experienced similar issues with their charge? What did you do, did not do? I have thought about some type of scotch guard water proofing the front of his pants, but have not tried it yet. It is embarrassing for him, he knows he is doing it, but can not remember any suggestions or help we try to provide. He knows that he forgets to pull his diaper up, and pulls his pants up first, but he will still do it every time. He knows he urinates down the front of his pants but still does it.

I would appreciate any and all comments, suggestions, remarks, tips and advice. Thank you

A Book Review on Alzheimer's Disease

2010-12-20T14:44:00.004-06:00

In researching Alzheimer's Disease, attempting to learn all I can about the disease, and how to care for those that have it, I have come across numerous books, articles, and blogs. In November, I received an Amazon Kindle for my Birthday, and immediately started downloading any book I found concerning Alzheimer's Disease. The first book I downloaded and read is Alzheimer's Finding the Words, A Communication Guide for Those Who Care by: Harriet Hodgson.

     "Much like a telephone, speech depends on
    transmission and reception. If there are
      problems on the line - Alzheimer's Disease -
      the message is garbled. The sender and receiver
      are having entirely different conversations."

In Alzheimer's, Finding the Words Harriet leads us on her journey with her Mother, Mabel Clifton Weil whom suffers from Alzheimer's Disease. In the beginning stages Harriet and her mother lived in two separate states, and Harriet attempted long distance Care-giving, this became more and more difficult with every passing day. Harriet was then forced to move her mom to a nursing facility near to where Harriet lives so that she could properly care for her mom.

In her book Harriet briefly touches on multiple facets of Alzheimer's and how to communicate with those that have it. Starting with defining Alzheimer's Disease, early warning signs, loss of communication skills, stages of the disease, to tips and techniques caregivers can use to communicate and help their loved ones. Through the multiple subjects she touches on, Harriet will pinpoint a problem, give an example of a situation she had experienced with her mother, then site a reference from a particular book or professional in the field on how they recommend dealing with the issue. Followed by methods that has worked or not worked for her.

I completely enjoyed the fact that she touched on such a wide range of subjects, however they were brief and left me wishing for more information on certain areas of concern. It is for this reason that I would give her book 4 out of 5 stars. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has found themselves caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's, yet found themselves lacking the knowledge to do so.

Have you read this book? Add your comments below.

Teleconference on Caregiving for Dementia

2010-12-09T13:25:00.000-06:00

Today I had the privilege to listen in on a teleconference by Carole Larkin on the Alzheimer's Foundation of America's Care Connection. Carole Larkin MAG, CMC, CAEd, QDCS, EICS, is a Geriatric care manager who specializes in helping families with Alzheimer’s and related dementia issues. She also trains caregivers in home care companies, assisted livings, memory care communities, and nursing homes in dementia specific techniques for best care of dementia sufferers.

On the second Thursday of every month, the Alzheimer's Foundation of America's Care Connection holds a teleconference with a different guest speaker that caregivers like myself, can call in and listen to a qualified professional speak, and ask questions concerning our loved one. You can connect with this teleconference by dialing toll free 1-877-232-2992 then entering guest code 271004#. This conference is held at 1 PM Eastern time.

Today's topic was titled Candy Bars in the Shower and Other Tips and Tricks to Manage Activities of Daily Living . You can find recorded archived calls at http://www.alzfdn.org/AFAServices/careconnection.html. Carole provided allot of useful and interesting information, I recommend that you connect to the above link and listen to her speech. The information ranged from dealing with the repetitive behavior of Alzheimer patients to assisting with eating and bathing, as well as incontinence issues.

Conversations with Alzheimer

2010-12-04T14:43:00.003-06:00

Saturday December 4th, it's 8:08 AM, I awaken to my oldest daughter coming downstairs.

Oldest Daughter - "Brian, Pawpaw is awake and trying to go somewhere, he said he is waiting on you to take him. I asked him where he was going and he would not tell me, he said he will only tell you.

Brian - "OK, tell him I am on my way."

I quickly dress and go upstairs, I walk into Bill's room and he is sitting on the side of his bed with his pants halfway up to his knees, sitting in a puddle of pee.

Brian - "What's going on Bill"?

Bill - "I don't know, you tell me."

Brian - "Well, your Granddaughter told me that we were going somewhere, where are we supposed to be going"?

Bill - "I don't know, you tell me."

Brian - "It is 8:00 o'clock in the morning, and we have no plans to go anywhere. Where did you think we were going"?

Bill - "I don't know, you tell me."

Brian - "Is something wrong"?

Bill - "I don't know, you tell me."

Brian - "Are you feeling alright? How do you feel right now"?

Bill - "I don't know, you tell me."

Brian - "Well, do you want to get up, shower, and get something to eat, or do you want to get cleaned up, change clothes, and go back to bed"?

Bill - "I don't know, you tell me. Your the brains of this outfit."

Brian- "Are you still sleepy and want to go back to bed"?

Bill - "I don't know, you tell me."

Brian - "Well, how about you get up, we will get you cleaned up, dressed, and we will drive into town, and get you a biscuit."

#1) I know by now that when he is set on going somewhere, we need to go somewhere.

# 2) When he is acting this way, and is lost in what I call "Al's World" that one way to bring him back into my world, is to change his environment, by getting him out of the house awhile. I do not know why this works, but anytime he gets agitated, gets lost in "Al's World", having hallucinating, or delusions, that getting him out of the house for even just 15 minutes changes his mood dramatically.

Bill - "I don't know, you tell me. Your the brains of this outfit."

Brian - "Are you hungry"?

Bill - "I don't know, you tell me."

Brian - "OK, get undressed, and I will get your shower set up."

Bill - "OK, your the brains of this outfit."

I get his shower ready, and go back to his room, and he is still sitting in the same position, pants halfway on.

Brian - "Bill, what's wrong"?

Bill - "I don't know, you tell me."

Brian - "I have your shower going, I need you to get undressed."

Bill now proceeds to get undressed and moves to get into the shower. About this time, my oldest daughter yells out, "Bye, I'm leaving now, love you." I respond in kind.

Bill - "Who is that"?

Brian - "Your oldest Granddaughter!"

Bill - "Where is she going, to work?"

Brian - "No, she doesn't work, she is going to go Christmas Shopping."

Bill - "How is she going to go shopping if she doesn't work"?

Brian - "Well, she is going with her boyfriend, I guess he is paying"?

Bill - "How is he paying"?

Brian - "He has a job."

Bill - "He is going to spend all his money just on a Christmas Present."?

Brian - "You got me, It's his money, It's up to him how he spends it."

Bill - "Well, I will be damned, If I will walk the streets like that for that kind of money"!

Brian - I could not respond to that, I just did not know what to say, to that statement.

We then got him showered, dressed, his room cleaned up and bed changed. We drove into town to pick up some refills for his prescriptions and grabbed some biscuits. All behavior and conversations were normal for the most part, until we were halfway home. . .

Bill - "I was saving that for my boys!"

Brian - "Saving what"?

Bill - "I was saving that ranch I got for the future of my boys. I got a 3000 acre ranch for my boys, my ole lady, and my two daughters. I got 3000 acres down in that holler right over there!" Long Pause, "You got that Boy"?

Brian - "Yes Sir, I got that." I know that Bill has never owned land other the houses he has bought and lived in since he started his family over 40 years ago.

All of this has taken place in the first hour and a half to two hours since he woke up this morning. We arrive home, and his behavior has been as normal as any behavior of a person his age without Alzheimer's. We have been home for four and a half hours now.

Recommendations and Lessons Learned

When Bill is acting out of the normal realms of behavior, I have found that changing his environment quickly changes his mood.
Do not argue with Alzheimer's, it can and WILL make things worst. Try your best to keep up with the conversation by agreeing with, or just "playing along" with whatever delusional behavior they are experiencing at the time.
It is not important when he is clearly discussing unreal or untrue facts. It is only important that your there to hear them, and your there to keep them safe and secure.
Conversations, moods, and behavior can change in the blink of an eye. For example this morning, the only responses I got out of Bill where "I don't know, you tell me." and ""I don't know, you tell me, your the Brain's of this outfit." Up until my oldest daughter yelled to us that she was leaving. Then his responses and behavior started changing.

Happy Caregiving

2010-11-25T20:09:00.001-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Before I share my day with you, I would like to preface today's story by telling you that what you are about to read contains some rather descriptive and disturbing rhetoric. This is not meant to be anything other than the true, accurate, difficult aspects of Care giving.  This is a rare, but very real occurrence,  that Caregivers must deal with on occasion. When I started this blog, one of my primary goals was to describe what a Caregiver goes through on a day to day basis when working with someone with Alzheimer's Disease.

Today as a family we were going to visit both my family and my wife's family for Thanksgiving. My family was going to gather at my Cousin Scott's house, that was one hour and ten minutes away.  Scott just returned home three weeks ago from Afghanistan where he was serving our country in the U.S. Army Reserve. His wife served at home anxiously awaiting his return with her daughter, one son a U.S. Marine that had already served a year in Iraq and a year in Afghanistan, while her oldest son is still active duty U.S. Navy. I have not seen anyone in my extended family in over two years, my two brothers I have not seen since May. My mother I have seen several times this year, so we were looking forward to getting together with them this year. After we left their house, we were going to see my wife's side of the family which was gathering ten miles from where I live.

We started stirring this morning around 6 AM, so that my three daughters, and wife could shower, dress, apply their war paint, I could shower and dress, and get Bill showered, dressed and ready for a 10 AM departure. We were to arrive at my cousin's house at 11:15, and we were responsible for bringing drinks. At approximately 10:30 this morning, Bill turned to me and said "I need you to stop at the next restroom, I have to go"! O.K. I replied, At the next light I turned to him and asked if he had to go One or Two. "Two he replied." The light turned green and I sped to the nearest restroom. We stopped at the Shell Gas Station at the next exit and was able to get Bill out and into the store where we rushed to the restroom and stood in-line.   There was one man in the restroom, and another waiting, the woman's restroom was occupied and had three other ladies waiting to get inside.

Waiting outside the restroom, the first man exited and the second man quickly went inside and locked the door. Standing there, I watched as Bill was showing signs of stress, very much like how retail security feels when waiting to unlock the doors on Black Friday, with thousands of customers pressing on the doors to grab those two televisions sets they advertised at the low low price of a dollar three ninety eight! Anxiously waiting, Bill turns to me and says "I hope I don't Shit myself"! Yo, Mike! We have a clean up on aisle three!

Finally the bathroom door opens, and Bill and I rush in, he is turning to back up to the toilet, while trying to pull his pants down at the same time. I am trying to undo his belt at the same time, Now this is where I insert the very important aspect of dressing your charge appropriately. I realize we are going to visit family on Thanksgiving, but there is no reason to dress him up in clothes that require allot of tying, buckling, snapping, and zipping. Try aiming for the quick, slip on and slip off, easy in, easy out, bada bing, bada boom! That is what I get for listening to the voices in my wife's head, I knew better and went against my own instincts.

With pants around his ankles and diaper almost to his knees, still standing, he announced it was too late, and he was right. With explosive diarrhea, he messed inside his diaper, outside his diaper, inside his pants, outside his pants, all over his legs, shoes, and socks. Diarrhea on the toilet seat, under the toilet seat, outside the toilet bowl and on the floor, yet NONE made it into the bowl. Then he did what he went into the restroom to do, he sat down, right on the toilet seat, that was covered in poo.   Did I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving yet? I proceeded to try to remove Bills shoes, pants and diaper so I could proceed with the clean-up on aisle three.

Forty Five minutes later after washing his pants in the bathroom sink, changing his diaper, cleaning him up with single ply Scott toilet tissue (a whole lot of it). I also cleaned the bathroom of most of the mess, the best I could. Bill was highly embarrassed and upset, he apologized to me several times, the first time he apologized I said "that's OK, this is why I get paid the big bucks"! He laughed and said "well even if you were getting paid, no amount of money is worth this"! My reply "it's a Shitty job, but someone has to do it." My wife who anxiously awaited our exit from the restroom managed to escort her father to the car with the utmost dignity, and grace they could muster. I finished cleaning what I could, and wish to take this opportunity to give a shout-out to the gentlemen of the Shell station off of Arkadelphia Road for the use of their restroom, and Happy Thanksgiving.

Although we had the forethought to bring a clean diaper, we did not bring an extra set of clothes. We then had to return home about 30 minutes away, so Bill could shower and change clothes. We then proceeded to our second destination that went off without a hitch, however when we arrived back home, my wife did have to coax Bill out of the car because he said he did not live here, and would just wait in the car for us. He has been living with us for 10 months now, once inside he stated the house was too small for all four of us to live in. We have 6 people, 4 bedrooms, and 1 of the six goes to college, we gave her room to Bill.

We did not get to see my family again this Thanksgiving, but did manage to make it to my wife's family gathering. Although I did not get to visit my family I did have a Happy Thanksgiving and am very Thankful for all that God has blessed me with. I am thankful for my family, I am thankful for all of my cousins safely returning home from war both from Iraq, and Afghanistan. I am thankful for my wife, children, and father-in-law as well as the rest of my wife's family that I was able to visit today. I am also thankful for all of you and hope you continue to read my blog and ask others to visit as well.

I hope that you gather some helpful insights from this article so that you can plan for any unfortunate events. Plan for the worst, Hope for the Best, and hopefully you will never be disappointed. Because Shit Happens!

Alzheimer's Disease and Wandering

2010-11-21T11:47:00.001-06:00

Alzheimer's Disease and Wandering:

Here is an outstanding article written by Bob DeMarco from the Alzheimers Reading Room

"_____________________________________

Wandering is among the most unsettling and even terrifying behaviors people with Alzheimer's disease display. Often poorly clad, they leave safety at random hours and strike out into unknown territory, for no apparent reason. But this seemingly aimless activity usually does have a reason. It's often an attempt to communicate after language skills have been lost.
_____________________________________"

What's it like, living with Alzheimer's?

2010-11-20T14:03:00.004-06:00

Well today is Saturday and we are having some nice weather, so here I am "Inside" writing in the blog! If it was cold and raining outside, I would want to be outside cutting grass. Is that what Alzheimer's like? Your body is doing one thing, while your brain is trying to do something else? Or wanting to do one thing, while your actually doing another? I think it is both Yes, and No! No, it is not quite like that, but Yes, it is almost as simple as that. OK Brian, you got me confused! Speak English, or Earthling, or something else we can understand.

Living with someone that has Dementia/Alzheimer's is very much like living with a normal person for the better part of the day. In the respect that there is normal behavior, and normal conversation for a good portion of the day. Then there is some off the wall, abnormal, unbelievable, confusing behavior. Which is what I mean by wanting to physically do something, while mentaly doing something else.

Bill will put a blanket down on the couch or bed, lie down on top of it, then try to cover up with it while its trapped underneath him.
I will tell Bill to take off his shirt so I can shave him, I turn around, and he will be completely naked.
I will tell Bill that we will drive into town "Tomorrow" and do something, he will go climb into the truck right then.
He "Dips Snuff" he will attempt to take the lid off the can, but have it upside down. I will say Bill turn it over. He will spin it round and round in his hand. I will have to explain very carefully. "Bill, stop! now flip the can upside down" He will then flip it to where the lid is on top.
We will walk somewhere, and I will lead him by the arm telling him to turn left, he will turn to the right, and no matter how hard I pull him to the left, and keep saying "this way Bill, this way." He will keep trying his hardest to pull and turn the opposite way.
I put a plate of food down in front of him, he will look at my plate clear across the table, reach across the table and grab my plate. "I say no, your plate is in front of you!" He will look down at his plate say "Oh", then look back up at me, look across the table, lean across the table and grab my plate again.
On a daily basis he will do one of the following, he will get up to go pee, open the front door, and pee on the porch. Get up to go spit outside, and spit in the hallway leading to the bedrooms. He will get up to go out on the front porch and end up in his bedroom wondering where the front door is. I have caught him several times trying to climb out of his bedroom window while trying to get to the front porch on the other side of the house.

The above mentioned behavior I expect to happen on any given day, at any given time. This behavior although cause for some concern is less dangerous than the following situations. The occurences that arrive unexpectedly are those of his Hallucinations, and delusional behavior. That behavior, atleast with Bill is where he is partially in my reality, where he knows who I am and where we are, and partially in another reality where he believes other people are in the room with us, or he is doing something that we are not really doing.   We may be having a conversation and he will think someone else is in the room with us, and start talking to them or about them. He will bring up something that is going on only in his mind, yet I have no clue what he is refering to.

Well this confuses me, my first reaction is to say no, or to state that no one is here, or no that did not happen. That may or may not start an argument, or frighten Bill. So I pretend that his reality is real to me as well, and attempt to steer him away from the Hallucinations, or delusions by changing the subject, or distracting his attention.   One day he started having a discussion with one of his sons that in my reality was not in our house. His son was ignoring him and would not answer him, Bill started getting madder and madder. He finally got up looked at me, and said come on, we're leaving, If the S.O.B. will not talk to me, then there is no use staying here. Bill then leaves the house and climbs into my truck. Now the problem is, we are at my house and his son was 30 miles away in his own home. So, I get into the truck, drive Bill down to the local gas station, Quick-It # 8 buy him a candy bar and drink, and go right back home to our house. By the time we made it home, he was back to my reality and had forgotten all about his son ignoring him. We drove two and a half miles down the road, two and a half back,
10 minutes had passed.   It does not take much to distract, and ease the tension, all you need to do is change the environment long enough for them to calm down, and step back into your reality.

A hallucination is a false perception of objects or events involving the senses. When individuals with Alzheimer’s disease have a hallucination, they see, hear, smell, taste or feel something that isn’t there.

Delusional disorder, previously called paranoid disorder, is a type of serious mental illness called a "psychosis" in which a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined. The main feature of this disorder is the presence of delusions, which are unshakable beliefs in something untrue. People with delusional disorder experience non-bizarre delusions, which involve situations that could occur in real life, such as being followed, poisoned, deceived, conspired against, or loved from a distance. These delusions usually involve the misinterpretation of perceptions or experiences. In reality, however, the situations are either not true at all or highly exaggerated.

When people suffering from Alzheimer's suffer Hallucinations, or Delusions they may think that you are a stranger trying to cause them harm, when in fact you are a loved one, trying to help them. This is what often causes Alzheimer sufferers to get violent and lash out. Hallucinations and delusions, are often what causes Alzheimer sufferers to wonder off. They think they are somewhere other than where they really are, or they think they are going towards a destination that only exist in their reality.    The situations that stem from hallucinations and delusions are very dangerous not only to the Alzheimer victim, but to the Caregiver as well.

In Bill's Company

2010-11-14T15:10:00.001-06:00

It seems like everyday Bill has an Alzheimer's moment, some funny, some sad, but all noteworthy. Problem is, that I seem to forget them from day to day, which makes it hard for me to dedicate a whole entry for it. So enjoy what tidbits I do write, and please feel free to comment and add to them.

Today Bill was sitting on the love seat on one end, and he had a pillow and blanket on the other end. He kept lifting up the pillow, putting it down, lifting up the blanket and put it down. He was obviously looking for something, I sat and watched him for approximately 10 minutes. He just kept repeating the same thing, lifting up the pillow, looking under it, picking up the blanket looking under it, rinse and repeat.

I finally asked, "Bill what are you looking for"? Well, I had a can I thought I put here, and I can't find it. "What was in that can Bill"? Well, I had some dirt and other stuff I had put in there, at least I thought I did. "What was the other stuff that was in the can besides dirt"? I asked. Just some dust and stuff I picked up and put in there, I think, but now I am not so sure!

Of course there was no can of dirt or anything. At least not in my reality.

Here we are 10 minutes later and Bill ask me. "Tell me one thing. What are we doing here"? Well, right now we are watching TV, I replied. "Besides that, what are we doing here"? Well we live here Bill. He does his nervous laugh and says "Well, maybe you do, but I don't live here." Now How can I argue with that? He has been living here for the better part of a year now, and I still have to remind him once a day that this is where he lives.

August 4, 2010 Six Nursing Home Employees Arrested

2010-11-13T01:24:00.001-06:00

August 4, 2010

Six Nursing Home Employees Arrested for Shocking Prank on Elderly
It was announced this morning that six nursing home workers were arrested for playing a cruel prank on several residents at the Valley View Skilled Nursing Facility. According to a release from the California Attorney General's office, the employees applied a slippery ointment cream over the bodies of seven elderly nursing home residents to make them "slippery" for the oncoming shift. It is believed that the residents were selected because all suffered from advanced dementia, and could not object to the mistreatment.

"As part of a cruel and shocking prank, these caregivers abused defenseless elders," AG Jerry Brown said. "This is despicable behavior by people placed in a position of trust."

After an investigation by the California Bureau of Elder Abuse, the district attorney's office has filed a misdemeanor criminal charge against each employee for injury to elder or dependent adult; battery committed on elder or a dependent adult; conspiracy; and battery committed while on hospital property.

Please note that once again we charge these wonderful "Caregivers" with Misdemeanor's for their behavior.

September 4th, 2010 Caregiver shows what caring is all about.

2010-11-13T00:44:00.002-06:00

September 4th, 2010. Once again, another caregiver, offering loving care, to our elderly that can no longer defend themselves, but are unable to put voice to their treatment as well.

August 23, 2010 Elder Abuse by in home Caregiver

2010-11-13T00:01:00.004-06:00

Home aide abuses 91-year-old Jersey City woman

This stupidity carried on multiple times a day from August 23rd, 2010 until August 29th, 2010. I really do not think there is anything else I can add without using totally inappropriate language!

Physical abuse of our senior citizens is the second most common form of elder mistreatment. Only neglect is more common. It is estimated that for every reported incident of elder abuse, five incidents are not reported. If you suspect that your loved one is a victim of elder abuse, contact authorities immediately. For various state hotlines, please visit the National Center on Elder Abuse website.

June 18, 2010 Nursing Home Abuse, Caught On Tape, Shows Vulnerability of Elderly To Neglect

2010-11-12T23:51:00.003-06:00

Friday, June 18, 2010, 02:14 PM - Nursing Homes

Wonder what it is like to be an elderly resident of a nursing home and totally dependent on your care givers for help? Then watch this!

November 11, 2010 Caregiver abuses Elderly Alzheimer Patient

2010-11-12T10:03:00.003-06:00

This was deemed a Misdemeanor! A Misdemeanor? Your kidding me right? The Caregiver also claimed that she did not mean to harm her. Well then, what were you intending to do? Was this an act of Racism? Please give me your comments, I really would like to understand this.

Driving Mr. Bill down Memory Lane

2010-11-04T11:50:00.000-05:00

One thing I have been doing with Bill since he moved in with us, is to constantly test his memory and recall. Trying to keep his mind active and alive is one of my main concerns. Now Bill only graduated the 9th grade, dropping out when he was 16 years old. Afterwards Bill spent the remainder of his life mostly as a laborer, hard labor, lifting and carrying heavy materials. So finding subject matter that I can quiz him on daily, and test his recall requires some investigative work on my part.   One thing Bill knows about, and has enjoyed as a hobby most of his life is working on cars, and working on cars with one of his sons. So here I find myself researching an area I know very little about, and that is working on cars.
During my research I found a very comprehensive site that covers most every aspect of car repair, reliability of certain makes and models, as well as locations of auto repair shops in whatever area you happen to live, or travel in. Finding http://repairpal.com/ was a jackpot of information all on one site that I could research, learn, and share information, as well as quiz Bill on.

The other day, I asked Bill what was one of his biggest challenges while working on cars. He replied that changing a head-gasket was probably one of the toughest, and most frustrating jobs, he had to deal with when repairing cars. So being the super bright, intelligent, good looking guy that I am, I jumped on http://repairpal.com/ and looked up head-gaskets. You would never guess what I found! Well, Ok maybe you will! I found http://repairpal.com/head-gasket-replacement slap full of everything you need to know about changing a head-gasket. I was able to bring up the site, read about it, sit right here and discuss the changing of head-gaskets with Bill for a couple of hours. He was able to recall memories and information, discuss them, and I was able to follow along and ask questions. Through it all, I saw his spirits lift, his enthusiasm about life, and self esteem all rise due to this one topic.

A day later, Tuesday we drove into town, to vote for our favorite conservative candidates when we found a car for sale. Well this brought up the discussion of him working on several of the same make and models of that car, a car that was one of his sons favorite cars to repair and race in. When we arrived back at the ole' homestead we looked up http://repairpal.com/honda-civic-2001 . We found everything you need to know about the 2001 Honda Civic and more. This site had everything from problem reports, Q and A, Ratings and reviews, and recall information.

One thing I try to do on a regular basis is quiz Bill on geographic locations, city, states, country, places he has been, and information about them.   Well, this morning while eating breakfast he asked what was on the agenda for today. My reply was that he was on his last pair of panties, and needed to go buy some. Panties is what we call his Diapers. He thought I said we were going to Los Angeles! "LOS ANGELES? We are going all the way to Los Angeles in your truck? What if it breaks down on us? I'm not walking all the way back from Los Angeles!" (We live in Alabama).   "Why the Hell are we going to Los Angeles for anyway?" Going along with his misunderstanding, I told him that if we broke down, he could fix the truck since he knew so much about working on cars, and if that did not work then we would find a repair shop.

So, I pulled out the laptop, pulled up http://repairpal.com and immediately found http://repairpal.com/los-angeles-auto-repair . There I found tons of auto repair places, along with their addresses, websites, reviews, and a google map to there locations all in Los Angeles. Of course, I informed Bill that we were not going to Los Angeles, that in fact I said he was wearing his last panties, and we needed to go buy some. It then dawned on him that we were going to go buy diapers.

We are going to beat Alzheimer's Disease, it is not going to beat us. I hope that our experiences will in someway help you, in your daily struggles with Alzheimer's. Keep up the fight! As always, feel free to share your thoughts and comments with us.

Brian

Dirty laundry and Politics

2010-10-30T20:34:00.000-05:00

Today as been rather uneventful. I have spent all day with Bill, he is doing well today, a little confused a couple of times, but talkative and active for the most part. The kids are all scattered to the winds and my wife is with my youngest at the Bands of America Super Regional's in Atlanta, Ga. I have been diligently doing laundry and surfing the web, trying to catch that ever elusive all mighty dollar, and pointing out the truth to these Crazy Liberals and their wild ideas. Don't get me wrong, I love Liberals, they are very much like Slinky's. Pretty much useless, but fun to push down the stairs.

The big topic today has been these two clowns from Comedy Central, John Stewart and Steven Colbert. They held a rally in Washington D.C. in order to "Counter Rally" that of Glenn Beck he held several months ago. Well, although I was very impressed with the numbers that Comedy Central managed to bus into the mall, at the same time it saddens me that we have that many people willing to get their political advice and beliefs from Comedians. Let's take a look at the voices of the Liberal Left shall we? John Stewart-Comedian, Steven Colbert-Comedian, Joy Behar-Comedian, Woopie Goldberg-Comedian, Al Franken-Comedian, and Bill Maher-Comedian. What is it that makes everyone want to believe that these comedians are speaking facts when it comes to politics. "THEY ARE COMEDIANS FOLKS!"

So, Here I spent the better part of my day washing dirty laundry and commenting on blogs and message boards about the way liberals garner their facts from comedians. Usually when people start spewing facts about politics whether from the left or the right, I start looking for facts. I very rarely if ever find the truth behind Liberal comments. Yet, the conservatives generally speak facts and truth. Please people, look the facts up yourselves, and do not take the word of anyone as gospel. Do some research please!

Chapter Next

2010-10-29T15:00:00.001-05:00

Well, its finally over. The company where I have spent the last ten years of my life is closed. . . Well, the facility is closed, the company is still thriving.   I will miss my co-workers, friends and family you all were and are to me, Thank You, I Miss You, God-Bless.

It is over and now a New Chapter has begun!   What now? Well, Bill is asleep on the couch, two youngest kids are in school, Oldest is at dentists office, and the weather is Beautiful today.   I have Laundry going, Bill fed, Played fetch with the dog, wife is out doing the shopping.   Now, its time to BLOG!!!

Let me tell you the biggest challenge we have faced having Bill live with us,  his biggest issue, his Peeing!! So what? Everyone pees!   Well, they do, but they do not pee all day, everyday, EVERYWHERE! He has peed on the couches, the floor, the living room, the hallway, the bedroom, the front porch, the front yard with traffic driving by. He has peed on clothes, shoes, chairs, towels, bath tub, in closets, and on the heating/air conditioning unit.   He has peed while awake, asleep, sleep walking, daytime, nighttime, and anytime in between.

Well, we did not yell, fuss, gripe, complain, raise hell, or fuss at him. We smiled, said that's OK, we cleaned it up and monitored the situation. We Watched and Learned!   What did we learn? First of all, he drank too much coffee, too late in the day! Hardly ever drank water.   We cut back on his coffee drinking as well as soft drinks and started drinking more water. OH he still peed, but not near as much.   We also, noticed he was mostly sleep walking when he peed in places he was not supposed to.   Then the question arose, how do we stop him from peeing at night, or when he was asleep.   Simple solution, empty his bladder before going to bed.   I learned most of this by reading the blog Alzheimer's Reading Room by Bob DeMarco. Constantly reminding him to use the bathroom every hour or two, forcing him to use the bathroom before we left to go anywhere, having him go before going to bed. I even woke him up in the middle of the night a few times and had him get out of bed to go pee.   The peeing episodes were beginning to come fewer and fewer, and further between episodes.   But, they still occurred, and he was still peeing a whole lot.

One thing I remembered from somewhere in my past is that you empty your bladder more when you sit down and pee. I also noticed that when I stood outside the bathroom door and listened, he was having a difficult time draining himself.   So, while casually mentioning to my wife in a conversation one night, with him sitting right next to me. I stated that sometimes I have problems emptying my bladder, or feeling completely drained, but I noticed that if I sat down to pee, it all drained out completely, and giving me a more satisfied, relieved filling.   I then mentioned to Bill, hey you may want to try it and see if it helps.   Wow, I did not get his typical macho response of . . . "I am not sitting to pee like a bitch." Instead I got. . . Hmmm I will try that, sure enough 20 minutes later he left the bathroom, and told my wife that it worked. He does not do this all the time now, but enough to drastically change the constant peeing everywhere and anywhere. Now I can use my Cabella's Waders for fishing as they were intended.

Who am I?

2010-10-28T21:27:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow (October 29th, 2010) begins a new chapter in my life. I am being forced out of my job due to company restructuring due to the current economic environment. What does that mean? The company I work(ed) for closed our facility, terminating the employment of 380 people, due to the "Economic Downturn" or our great nation. I have been blessed to work there for the past 10 years, I have met and befriended many wonderful people in those ten years, and some not so wonderful people as well.   I also met my wife there!   Well, now that I will be unemployed tomorrow, what will I do now?   Well, for one thing, I will give a shot at that thing called Blogging!

My name is Brian, I am married and have three daughters. I also have a father-in-law with Alzheimer's that lives with us. Since I am now unemployed, I will be his primary caregiver. I have filled that role with my wife for the past 11 months, and it has been a journey for all of us. Although we have had some rough patches with adjusting to this new life, it has been a blessing as well.   My father-in-law is 69 years old, he is in the early moderate stages of Alzheimer's and his name is Bill. I will be blogging mostly about our adventures through Alzheimer's together, how I will fill my time at home while unemployed, and my attempts at trying to make money so that we can continue to offer Bill the full time support he needs.

I also want to share my attempts of DIY Home Improvements that our home desperately needs.   The misadventures of our three teen-age daughters.   My political points of view, my increasing disgust of the lack of morals in our great country, and anything else I can think of that may entertain you the reader. I ask that if you post comments to this blog, please feel free to share your opinions and thoughts, but to be civil in all respects, whether you agree, or disagree with anything I post or anyone else post on this blog.