There are 5.4 million people who have Alzheimer's. It cost 183 billion dollars in annual costs. Alz's is the 6th leading cause of death.
To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.' When God takes something from your grasp, He's not punishing you, but merely opening your hands to receive something better. Concentrate on this sentence... 'The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you.
WE LOVE HIM BECAUSE HE FIRST LOVED US
1 John 4: 9-10

Mom and Dad Happy Times.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Happy Halloween!!!!

We had a few trick -or- treaters last night. I am sure a lot more will come tonight. It has been very cold here in the mornings but nice during the day. We had to turn the furnace on. And I do hate that. It only runs a little while in the morning so that is good.
Mom has a little diaper rash in one spot so the nurse gave me some good cream with lots of zinc in it. Zinc is the key. Mom used to tear her skin on her arms so easy. She was so banged up and this was when she was getting around on her own. The doc. told her to start taking 100mg. of Zinc a day and her skin healed right up. My brother has started doing the same thing. He is only around 65 yrs old .But his skin is so thin. I told him to start taking Zinc. Don't think he has yet. If you have this problem ask your doc. about the mg. I might be wrong on that. Ask him anyway to see if it is right for you. And have a great Halloween. BOO!!!

Thursday, October 21, 2010

How Sweet It Is

Mom loves everything sweet . The sweeter the better. Well, she has been eating eggs for me since her eye surgery which she has not done in months. But she still makes a face every bite. So I found some recipes for egg pudding and egg custard. Can't believe I did not think of this before. She loves them and she is getting a lot of protein. Mom loves the egg pudding better then the custard but the recipe says it will cook in 40 Min's. No way!! It takes forever. And I cut the recipe in half. You just have to keep checking on it. Next time I am going to put it in a not so deep pan. I like the egg custard. It is tasty. Do not like all the butter so I have just been spraying the pan with butter flavor spray. Mom can't eat the crust that the butter makes anyway. Happy eating!
EGG PUDDING

10 eggs
2 c. sugar
3 c. milk
1 tsp. nutmeg

Mix all together and place in a Pyrex deep bowl. Place in a pan of water and bake at 300 degrees for about 40 minutes. This recipe can be cut in half for smaller pudding.

EASY EGG CUSTARD

4 large or 6 small eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 can evaporated milk
1 can water
1 stick butter (1/4 lb)

Combine everything except butter, mixing well. In a heavy bottom pan or double boiler, put melted butter in pan (coat the sides and bottom, then leave the remaining butter) and pour in mixture.
Bake at 350F until a thin knife inserted in center comes out clean. Shut oven off and open door, allowing the custard to cool without moving it.

May be topped with sprinkling of lightly toasted flaked coconut, or a fruit sauce, if desired, before serving. May be served warm or chilled.

Variation: A favorite flavoring can be added to the custard before baking, such as a teaspoon of good quality vanilla, a tablespoon of coconut rum, etc. The custard may be poured over a graham cracker crumb or pie shell made from a rolled sugar cookie dough.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Alzheimers With Love

This is a comment off Alzheimers With love Facebook page . If you have facebook check her out. She is great.
Freda R wrote:
"60% of Alzheimer's caregivers are women.
Of those women, 68% report they have emotional stress from caregiving.
Nearly half of these 68% rate their stress as a "5" on a scale of "1" to "5."
57% of all caregivers, including 2/3 of the women, admit they fear getting
Alzheimer's.
4 in 10 caregivers say they had no choice about their new role.
I know....after taking care of my Alz. husband since 2006, I 'fear' very much of
getting Alzheimer's disease......."

Friday, October 15, 2010

Late-Afternoon Behavior & Blog Action Day!!!

I am so glad it is Friday. And it is Blog Action Day and I forgot till a nice reader of my blog reminded me . This years topic is Clean Water. A billion people around the world are without clean drinking water. I could not go without water for 5 mins. Water is what helped me lose 40lbs. I drink a glass of water when I am hungry and I drink at least 4 glasses or more a day . I would never be able to know how hard it is to live without clean water. Stop by this wonderful link and learn about this years topic.SandwichINK.com
My sleeping and moms have been messed up ever since we got back from the hospital. She has her days and nights confused and I just can't seem to get out of bed to turn and change her. I am sleeping through the alarm clock . I have it set for every 3 hrs. You are suppose to turn your bedridden loved one every 2 hours but with her air mattress I cheat and do it every 3 but lately I have not heard the alarm go off. Maybe the first time than I miss the next two. It is weird. And mom just lays in the bed wide eyed. She is not talking or yelling for me like she used to so I guess she is not in pain or having her sundowners like used to . But I got to get things back in order.
Anyway my tips for this post is on Late Night Behavior since ours is off. If your loved one is Fidgeting and acting nervous, becoming easily upset, and wanting to go "home" when they are already home are types of late-afternoon behavior . To her or him "home" means feeling safe. Mom used to do this all day . Want to go home. And when we went on vacation one year she tried to leave and walk home. We had to keep a close eye on her or she would of been gone. This was early in her disease. Before we know how bad it was. She thought home was across the street but it was really 6oo miles away.
1. Give them a hug.
2. Tell them where they are.
3. Tell them they are safe.
4. Tell them you are not leaving.
5. Change the topic.
6. Turn on more lights.
7. Close the blinds or curtains. "I don't know why you would do this". I guess so they won't want to go outside. But I hate the blinds closed .
8. Ask if they are hungry or if they will help you in the kitchen. "Mom would help my with dishes and folding laundry " This one might work.
9. Offer an easy activity like sorting spoons or forks or ask them to wipe off the table with you. I have done this . It does work too. Mom would wipe the table for me when ask.
10. Use a happy voice and make everything seem like a lot of fun. " I was very bad at this one" I was bossy and always in a bad mood. Seemed like when I said Earlene instead of Mom she would respond better. I regret this all the time. I wish I was more like a daughter than a caregiver back then. And now she does not respond to hugs and kisses much but back then she would of. So give them lots of hugs and kisses and nice words while they still want them.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Booties


Good morning all. Mom is getting a bath from Kay her aid. And I wanted to show you her new booties. While we were in the hospital the wound care people came to visit and gave mom some booties to protect her feet. Well I am sure we payed for them but anyway they are cute. I looked them up at All Day Medical and they are around $45 so very costly but nice.
If you need some I have a link at the bottom of my post for All Day Medical they do have lots of goodies. I just wish everything was free. Not sure if the Alzheimer's Store have them but you can check them out at http://www.alzstore.com/
Anyway mom is doing great after her eye surgery . She is eating and talking a lot. I am having trouble getting enough fluids down her. Choking is a big problem . We have to thicken her drinks so much that it looks like honey . But she takes it good with a spoon. She is better now than a week ago. I just wish she would never get choked again. It is a very scary.
I have decided to post a tip or two from my book I got at the memory walk on caring for Alzheimer's patients. That way people might get a little useful info from this blog .
Tip for today is on pacing. Mom never really paced. She did do a lot of hitting and pushing and trying to walk out the door when it was bed time . But if we left her alone she would just sit in her chair and watch TV all day and night. I have to warn you if you let your loved one stay in there chair all night make them get up and go to the potty sometime during the night. I let mom stay in her chair all night and the next morning it was a mess. She even had a pair of adults pullups on . Needless to say we had to toss that chair out and buy a new one. I was so happy she was happy and sleeping that I never thought to make her get up. That was in the early stages of her using the bathroom in her pants so I was not big on making her go to the potty . I have learned a lot since than. Now of course it is all in a diaper . No more potty runs. I do miss potty runs . Never thought I would but I do.
Ok!! Here are a few tips on Pacing for those who might need them. Good luck.
One of the reasons for pacing is she or he might be scared and unsure of where they are so walk with them ,hold there hand,tell them they are safe and loved , offer them a snack they can carry in there hand as they walk, keep the walkway clear so they are safe from falling and Try to distract them from there pacing, Ask them to look at a magazine or work a puzzle with you.
Mom was not a puzzle kind of person but the walking with her and food thing would of worked. Have a great weekend.

The Early, Mild to Moderate and Advanced stages of Alzheimer's in the brain.

The Early, Mild to Moderate and Advanced stages of Alzheimer's in the brain.

Seven Stages of Alzheimer's

1. No sign of congnitive impairment. 2. Very mild congnitive decline. 3. Mild congnitive decline. 4. Moderate congnitive decline. 5. Moderately severe congnitive decline. 6. Severe congnitive decline. 7. Very severe congnitive decline. (Congnitive pertains to the mental process of perception, memory, judgement, and reasoning, as contrasted with emotional and volitional processes.)

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