Tag: Caregiving
Thanksgiving – A Time for Reflection and Thanks
There’s a chill in the air and the trees are almost bare. Here in New England that’s a clear sign that fall is upon us and soon the Thanksgiving holiday will be here. Where ever you are and whatever your situation is, Thanksgiving is a perfect time to give thanks!
Personally, I’m thankful for my wonderful family, my health, my spouse, my caring co-workers, my two dogs and many many other things. I urge you to think about what you are thankful for and to let those people (and pets!) know how much you appreciate them.
As a company, we here at LoJack SafetyNet sincerely appreciate our close nit community. Our customers, followers and supporters have played a massive role in our growth and we truly appreciate and want to thank all of you.
It’s a great feeling for us when we hear about success stories like this and this, which proves our efforts to bring loved ones back home with our SafetyNet service really do work and we are in fact saving lives.
As the Thanksgiving holiday comes closer, here are some links that may be helpful to you:
Thanksgiving Travel Tips:
http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2010/11/12/dont-turkey-follow-thanksgiving-travel-tips/
Thanksgiving Cooking and Safety Tips:
http://www.catalogs.com/info/kitchen/thanksgiving-cooking-tips.html
Thanksgiving Events – Family and Black Friday:
http://www.fchornet.com/2.2211/a-beginners-guide-to-shopping-black-friday-1.2704947#.TsaEiGPfdWA
http://www.wafb.com/story/16074437/best-buys-worst-buys-on-black-friday-2011
http://dfw.cbslocal.com/guide/family-guide-to-thanksgiving-volunteering/
http://fatherhoodchannel.com/2010/10/29/thanksgiving-family-survival-guide-2010/
Thank you for reading and we look forward to a prosperous 2012 and beyond.
Stay safe!
Jason at LoJack SafetyNet
Posted on November 22, 2011 | 1 Comment | Category: Alzheimer's, Autism, Caregiving, Dementia, Down Syndrome, Search and Rescue, Uncategorized, Wandering | Tags: Alzheimer's, Autism, Caregiving, Dementia, Down Syndrome, giving thanks, GPS, Radio Frequency, Search and Rescue, technology, thanksgiving, Wandering, Wandering | Tags: Alzheimer's
Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and nutrition
Senior Savvy
This Senior Savvy column addresses the important issue of dementia and nutrition:
Q: My mother, who has Alzheimer’s disease, lives in a nursing home. She is not eating well. She does not feel hungry and cannot be coaxed into eating. I have gone in to feed her, but she takes one bite and spits it out at me. I worry if she doesn’t eat enough, she will lose weight and become malnourished. Is there anything more I can do?
A: As dementia progresses, decreased food intake is common in later stages. Speak with the staff about your concerns. Also, feel free to speak with her primary care physician about your worries. It is important to eat and take in a certain amount of calories. The nursing home can weigh your mother weekly for weight loss. They can offer your mother high-caloric drinks, high-caloric cereal and other foods. These high-caloric items have vitamins and other important nutrients.If your mother enjoys picking up food and putting it in her mouth, consider having available a sandwich cut into bite-size pieces when you visit. Hand your mother a piece and give her time to eat it at her leisure.
via Senior Savvy: Helping your elder with eating – Little Falls, NY – The Times.
Posted on February 24, 2011 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, Dementia | Tags: Alzheimer's, appetite, Caregiving, Dementia, feeding, nutrition
Alzheimer’s Disease: iPhone apps for caregivers
Bright Hub
Alzheimer’s caregivers with iPhones or iPads should check out the iTunes App Store, where there are several Alzheimer’s-related applications. Among them, an app that identifies everyday objects to spark memories in dementia patients and an app that uses animation to explain brain function and anatomy to caregivers.
There are several iPhone apps that help individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and their carers. Alzheimer’s Cards is an Alzheimer’s iPhone app that displays images of foods and objects. iAlz Pro is an Alzheimer’s disease assessment app.
Posted on December 23, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, Dementia | Tags: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, Dementia, iPad, iPhone, technology
Alzheimer’s and dementia: Supporting caregivers
Notes for Dementia Caregivers
This post from Notes for Dementia Caregivers is written by a businessman in India, but he has a lot to share with the families of caregivers everywhere. It’s entitled “Supporting the primary caregiver: Mistakes made, lessons learnt, tips shared.” Here, he looks back on some of his early “mistakes.” Follow the link to read his lessons and tips to help the dementia caregivers in your life.
My mother-in-law suffers from dementia, and my wife is the primary caregiver. Nowadays, I introduce myself as a secondary caregiver, but I did not always see myself in this role. After my mother-in-law was diagnosed, and my wife took over the role of the primary caregiver, I failed to support her for many years because of ignorance and some incorrect attitudes.
Briefly, I did not try to learn about dementia or its caregiving after the diagnosis and had no idea of what to expect. I think I expected no impact I underestimated the caregiving load and did not appreciate that my wife could be overwhelmed physically and emotionally.
I perceived her as “negative” when she looked worried or asked me to reduce travel overseas because she would not be able to handle emergencies.
Most people in India treat dementia patients as they would treat any other elder. Close relatives egged my mother-in-law to show more “willpower” and criticized and mocked her for her “dependence” on my wife. They also blamed my wife of negligence and ill-treatment of the dementia patient based on the patient’s confused statements and their own faulty perceptions. I knew this was unfair. But I told my wife and mother-in-law to “adjust” or “ignore” critical comments instead of explaining facts to relatives. My wife was completely isolated by my relatives.
I think, subconsciously, I viewed caregiving as just doing a set of home-based tasks, and easier than “professional work”. This unexamined assumption of mine affected my attitude and decisions for many years.
As my wife’s time and energy were diverted into caregiving, she had to give up the professional work she loved, and also her social life, her friends, and her hobbies. It was a loss of identity for her. I did not realise that she needed emotional and functional support, and that she needed time off from caregiving I think, subconsciously, I viewed caregiving as just doing a set of home-based tasks, and easier than “professional work.” This unexamined assumption of mine affected my attitude and decisions for many years.
Posted on December 3, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, Dementia | Tags: caregiver stress, Caregiving, Dementia
Holiday season stressful for Alzheimer’s patients, caregivers
SeniorHomes.com
The holiday season is officially upon us, and for most people, it means a time filled with joy, cheer, and family. But for many seniors, especially those living with Alzheimer’s disease, the holidays can be stressful — for the very same reasons it brings happiness to most others.
People with Alzheimer’s disease thrive on familiar routines; adding guests, loud conversation, and activity can be disorienting to Alzheimer’s sufferers. Wrapping gifts can be a soothing activity for Alzheimer’s patients.The stress isn’t limited to the person with the disease, however.
Caregivers and other family members often become concerned and worried whether their loved one will be uncomfortable with guests, overwhelmed by activity, or feel isolated. Even young children can become confused if a loved one no longer recognizes them or mistakes them for someone else.
Anxiety is often amplified if the person is traveling to stay with other relatives during the holidays; removing Alzheimer’s sufferers from their familiar environment can be stressful. This is true both for those living at home and individuals residing in assisted living facilities and nursing homes, who often stay overnight with loved ones over the holidays.
via Holiday Season Tough on Alzheimer’s Sufferers « SeniorHomes.com.
Posted on December 1, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, Dementia | Tags: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, caregiving stress, holidays
A Massachusetts family struggles with early-onset Alzheimer’s
The Boston Globe
Bruce Vincent, just 48 years old, has Alzheimer’s disease. The Boston Globe plans to report on this Massachusetts family’s journey with early-onset Alzheimer’s.
Bruce Vincent works his way up and down the aisles of the grocery store he has owned for two decades, methodically unpacking crates of food, stocking shelves, and breaking down the empty cartons.
Midway down aisle 2, Vincent hesitates, unsure where the fudge-coated peanut butter cookies go. The redesigned package throws him, so he tucks them amid crackers on the top shelf and continues down the row.
On closer inspection, Vincent has left behind a trail of similar mismatches, which his 26-year-old son, Brian, now the boss, wearily but discreetly fixes. Used to be, the elder Vincent would gently correct the mistakes of his son, who started sweeping floors and stocking shelves at Vincent’s Country Store when he was 10 years old.
That was before Alzheimer’s disease.
Posted on November 17, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Caregiving | Tags: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, early onset Alzheimer's, Massachusetts
Utah author and mother writes about autism journey
USU Statesman
The average 2-year-old can speak more than 100 words. By 3, that number jumps to anywhere from 200 to 1,000. Michael Swaner never hit those milestones. In 32 years he has never spoken a word.
As an infant, Michael was diagnosed with severe low-functioning autism, a neurological disorder that impedes brain development. More than 1 million people in the United States are affected by autism, though only a small percentage of those cases are as severe as Michael’s.
“If there’s one thing you don’t get enough of with autism, it’s affection,” said Michael’s mother Ruth Swaner, USU graduate and author of the book “Words Born of Silence.”
The book, Swaner’s third, is about her personal journey in dealing with the anger, denial, acceptance and what she likes to call “over-dedication” of autism.
“One day my oldest son came up to me and said ‘We’re tired of helping you take care of Michael,’” she said. This was a turning point. She realized that she was so caught up in Michael’s needs that she wasn’t meeting the needs of her family or herself.
via Local author tells of journey with Autism – USU Statesman.
Posted on November 10, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Autism, Caregiving | Tags: Autism, book, Caregiving
Swallow your pride and ask for help: The challenge for family caregivers
Forbes.com
Carolyn Rosenblatt of AgingParents.com says she learned a lot while listening to a discussion of family caregivers at the Alzheimer’s Association of Northern California event. She blogged for Forbes.com on advice from experienced family caregivers. Here are some of the caregivers’ answers when asked, ““what advice would you give to other families who may be just starting out as caregivers?”
One woman said that she hesitated too long in asking for help. She thought she could do it all. It just got too difficult eventually, and she found a great resource in the Alzheimer’s Assn. support groups. She still attended them weekly. She got respite care for her husband, too.
The man who was caring for his mom said he wished that he had more help from his family, but none was forthcoming. He finally also swallowed his pride and asked for help outside his family. He got it, though he had to also learn to deal with his very difficult and unpredictable mother.
Another woman on the panel said she wished doctors and others would stop telling her “take care of yourself”. She said she was always doing the best she could. She took care of herself when she was able to do so, and her job as caregiver allowed only a little of that.
Posted on November 10, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, Dementia | Tags: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, Dementia, family caregiving
Alzheimer’s warning sign – money problems
The New York Times
The country is observing National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month in November. Here’s an important story from The New York Times on an early warning sign of Alzheimer’s – a problem handling finances.
Renee Packel used to have a typical suburban life. Her husband, Arthur, was a lawyer and also sold insurance. They lived in a town house just outside Philadelphia, and Mrs. Packel took care of their home and family.
One day, it all came crashing down. The homeowners’ association called asking for their fees. To Mrs. Packel’s surprise, her husband had simply stopped paying them. Then she learned he had stopped writing checks to his creditors, too.
It turned out that Mr. Packel was developing Alzheimer’s disease and had forgotten how to handle money. When she tried to pay their bills, Mrs. Packel, who enlisted the help of a forensic accountant, could not find most of the couple’s money.
“It just disappeared,” she said.
What happened to the Packels is all too common, Alzheimer’s experts say. New research shows that one of the first signs of impending dementia is an inability to understand money and credit, contracts and agreements.
via Alzheimer’s Warning Sign – Money Problems – Vanishing Mind – NYTimes.com.
Posted on November 1, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, Dementia | Tags: Alzheimer's, Caregiving, Dementia, finances
Jane Lynch and Jane Fonda bust out the workout moves to help fight Alzheimer’s
Daily Mail
Between them they have a combined age of 102.
But watching them bust out the workout moves you’d think Jane Lynch and Jane Fonda were still teenagers. The two Janes took to the stage yesterday in Long Beach, California in front of a packed convention center, as they helped co-host California First Lady Maria Shriver’s women’s conference.
The two actresses are both obviously in top physical shape and they embarked in a vigorous workout, encouraging the crowd to move along with them. It’s not surprising they’re so fit – 50-year-old Lynch seems to spend the majority of her time in sweats these days as she plays a PE teacher on the hit TV show Glee. And Fonda, 72, is a workout fanatic, even producing her own series of top selling workout tapes during the 1980s.
It was a star-studded affair with Peter Gallagher, Soleil Moon Frye, Rob Lowe and Leeza Gibbons all lending their support along with Fonda and Lynch.
Fifty-four-year-old Shriver is a long- time advocate for families struggling with Alzheimer’s. Her own father, Sargent, has battled the disease since being diagnosed in 2003.
Since that time, Shriver has been deeply involved in raising awareness and funding for Alzheimer care and research.
via Jane Lynch and Jane Fonda bust out the workout moves to help fight Alzheimer’s | Mail Online.
Posted on October 26, 2010 | No Comments | Category: Alzheimer's, Caregiving | Tags: Alzheimer's, California, Caregiving, celebrities
