Plant City Lady

Plant City Lady and Friends: Precious Last Days 

 

My friend Carol's Husband lost his fight with Alzheimer's this week. She is such a wonderful blogger . And she was a wonderful caregiver. He was blessed to have her there for him. So much love. Visit her blog you will learn so much about faith in the Lord and the life of  Carol and  husband and how Alzheimer's changed it.  Carol our prayers are with you always.

http://act.alz.org/site/TR/Walk2014/AR-Arkansas?pg=team&fr_id=4921&team_id=207982

Guess what time of year it is! Alzheimer's Walk Sept 20th. Time to raise money , donate and or walk in a walk near you.
 Here are the 2014 stats. 

There are more than 5 million Americans living with Alzheimer's disease, including 3.2 million women and 200,000 people under the age of 65 with younger-onset Alzheimer's disease/

There are currently 15.5 million caregivers providing 17.7 billion hours of unpaid care in the U.S., often at the detriment of their own health.

Alzheimer's disease is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, yet it is still widely misunderstood and under reported.

We need to get the word out. This disease affects not only the person with it but there family  and friends. Lets End Alzheimers .

Post Caregiver Stress Syndrome

I looked online to see if there was a post Caregiver Stress Syndrome and I found this Caregiver Stress Syndrome. I did not find a label for post caregiving. 

Caregiver Stress Syndrome is a term used to describe the physiological and psychological changes experienced as the result of chronic stress due to ongoing caregiving activities.

Caregiver Stress Syndrome are actual physiological, psychological and emotional symptoms that can result from the ongoing emotional strain of caregiving for a loved one, or attending to the all of the needs of a child or dependent adult.

Fortunately the impact of care giving on the caregiver is starting to be recognized. Physicians (and family members) are being encouraged to identify those at risk for Caregiver Stress Syndrome, so they can get some help and some respite care.

 

A friend of mine lost her mom this past week after caring for her the last few years. I saw her at Walmart the other night and she was telling me how it felt to be there . I had the same feelings when mom died and many more.   The fact that I  did not have to hurry home.  I was free to do what I wanted and go where I wanted and stay as long as I wanted but it was not right. It was scary. Driving even scared me. I was out of place . Walmart was so big and  so much space. There was to many people. The roads have to many cars. And going back to work was awful. I went back to the full-time job I gave up to care for mom and I could not do it. I was over whelmed. Talking to my friend made me realize I was not the only one that felt this way.After your love one is gone you have to start all over. The world did not stop and wait on you to return. It moved on and you have to catch up. For years you stay at home in your own very small world caring for someone day in and day out. If you do get away you run to do errands just thinking about the time and how you have to get back. That is all you focus on. Getting what needs to be done fast . Now you have all this time and freedom but do not know what to do with it. If you are a caregiver get help. Tell everyone you know that you need help.We all need help.

I am better now. I have a job I love. And as always family and friends that love and care for me. It took awhile to get out of the hole but I am almost there. Just know you are not the only one . Ask for help. Pre, During and Post Caregiver. And Always Pray.

Plant City Lady and Friends

Carol from Plant City Lady And Friends  is a wonderful blogger friend . She interviewed me for her blog . Check it out . Thank you Carol .

 I could not of taken care of mom without the help of Family and Friends. All I had to do was call my son, sister , brother , nephews or nieces and they would come running.   Without my son and the rest of my family I would of never made it. And than this blog. People like Carol gave me a place to vent , sound off , talk and write . I would read there blogs and what they are dealing with and I was not alone anymore. Thank you all. Love you all. Remember Just Pray http://plantcityladyandfriends.blogspot.com/2014/01/interview-of-karen-caregiver -for-her-mom.html

101 Ways To Spend Time With A Person With Alzheimers

Hi, How is everyone?
It has been way over a year since I started posting these so I am going to finish today. They are from www.alz.org/livingwithalzheimers.
The Razorback Basketball game is about to start so I going to watch it also. WPS means Woooo pig Sooooie!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If any of you are my Facebook friends you might wonder why I put that up a lot. Well on game day we say WPS!!!! Now you know I am a Hog Fan .
82.Cut out pictures from magazines
83. Put coins in a jar. My dad did this . We had lots of jars of coins. I gave most away for Christmas presents to kids and grand kids . They love checking to see if any of the coins are worth a lot of money.
84. Put bird seed out for the birds. Then your love on can watch the birds .
85. Decorate a pumpkin
86. Reminisce about your favorite summer
87. Roll yarn into a ball
88. Trace and cut out autumn leaves
89.Cook a favorite family recipe together.
90. Gather a yellow sponge , crayons, paper and tape and make a SpongeBob SquarePants. LOL!!!  This one is funny.
91. Wash Silverware. Keeping your love one busy is a good thing.Give them chores to do as long as they will do them.  Mom just wanted to sit and watch TV . She would keep getting in and out of her purse. I put lots of dollar bills in there for her to count . She always wanted to make sure she had money in her billfold. I also gave her a bowl of cereal . She would eat on it all day. Not just one but many . It was something to do. I made her a activity quilt . You can buy them but they are expensive. I put buttons and zippers and different kinds of fabric on a pillow case. She would study and play with it some. In the last stages she did nothing but stare ahead but earlier these things kept here happy.
92. (ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ) Give him or her a hug. I miss that I did not do that enough. Stop working , Stop care giving and just give them a hug.
93. Ask the person to show you how to knit or sew or another favorite hobby. Mom made quilts. They were so pretty.
94. Make a picture frame out of Popsicle sticks and glitter
95. Play a musical instrument. Mom played the organ. I still have here old organ. I wish I could play
96. Keep a journal together. My sis started writing down stuff mom said . Funny stuff, old memories and stuff that made no sense. It is nice to look back at them .
97. Ask the person to talk about his or her favorite sports hero. If that is there thing. LOL!!!
98. Sort playing cards.
99. Ask the person about his or her favorite pet
100. Wash windows together
101. Ask the person about his or her first car. Mom never drove. But her and dads first home was an old school bus. She had some stories about that. Very interesting.
 I am finished. Love you guys. Remember Just Pray.