The holiday season is coming upon us (or is already upon us if you count the Red Sox being in the World Series a holiday). If you have a loved one with Alzheimer’s or other memory issue, some traditions may need to change in order to make things easier (and safer) on yourself and your loved one.
If you are caring for a loved one at home, they can often still assist with the cooking and baking, with some adjustments. Instead of expecting them to remember the recipes or help at the stove, give them a distinct direction such as chopping the carrots, or measuring the nuts, or dropping cookies onto a tray. People with Alzheimer’s often have trouble initiating an action, but can carry it out if prompted. This allows them to remain involved.
Try to keep the decorations at a minimum. Flashing lights and lots of clutter can be confusing to people with Alzheimer’s. Also try to keep the gatherings to a small size, and don’t have too much background noise like music or TV, which can be disorienting.
If your loved one is in an assisted living or nursing facility, consider holding a small celebration there instead of bringing your loved one home, if her doctors think a visit home might be too overwhelming. And rather than having a lot of people show up at once, consider having just a couple of people at a time, and stopping if your loved one seems to be getting too tired or agitated.
And don’t forget to take care of yourself. If you are the primary care giver of a relative with memory loss and you usually host Thanksgiving or your family expects you to go all out for New Years but you just don’t have the energy – feel free to just say "no." Ask them to help out before they ask you to play hostess (in addition to your role as nurse, companion, taxi driver, medication dispenser, appointment scheduler, personal care giver, etc.)
Make sure you are getting enough exercise, enough rest and enough time for yourself and your other priorities. Take advantage of respite care or day care programs in your area, and think about attending a local care giver support group.
There is a care giver event at Sunrise in Plymouth on Thursday November 1, 2007. The event starts at 5:30 and goes until 8:30. There will be dinner and entertainment and the feature speaker will talk about Emotional Freedom Technique, Guided Imagery and there will be reiki demonstrations. To attend, you should RSVP at 508-584-1561 x272,
Source: CNN Health Library
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