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Our medical and social tragedy
Today I got an up close and personal picture of how our medical and social systems fail people. Particularly the elderly, mentally ill and probably dementia patients. We post frequently on this forum that you should send your loved one to the hospital and refuse to take them home because it’s not safe. Well that doesn’t…
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Bible Verse to Lift You Up 5/14/23
Dear Friends, Again, I thank you for your encouraging messages. If you need a prayer, please also include those as well. Peace Always, Ronnie (Veronica Kelly Badowski) * BE LIKE JESUS * Philippians 2:1-5 New Living Translation Have the Attitude of Christ 2 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort…
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Finding a Memory Care Facility
Greetings, I'm new here, I just signed up. I'm my husband's caregiver. He was 1st diagnosed with Mild Cognitive Impairment in 2/2019 and transitioned to Alzheimer's Dementia in 11/2021. Unassisted, I've been looking at MCFs and they refer me to sources Independent placement persons (generic parties I'm not familiar with.)…
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How do I handle the night when she doesn't sleep
I care for a 96 yr old woman that has sundowner. She harms herself at night when she is in bed so we have had to resort to protective mittens. She has recently started to climb out of bed so we've had to use foam wedges to keep her in bed. She doesn't sleep much and is always crying out for help to get her up. She has CHF,…
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Another Shoe Dropped - May need to start working in the office
Hello Again. Thanks to everyone who offered support and assistance on my recent transportation conundrum. Today, another shoe dropped as we were informed that, starting in September, anyone living within 50 miles of one of our corporate offices must start working in the office 3 days/week. This is after being told many…
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Small Success!
Wanted to share a good story with y'all. I asked the pharmacist the other day if memantine can be ground up. She and her colleague said it could. Monday we had an in-home caregiver for a while and she said you can use two spoons to grind pills. I tried it today and mixed it in applesauce for mom and she ate it all up!…
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Alternatives to Sertraline?
I've been trying to skim through past posts about Sertraline and it's tedious so I'm asking up front. Mom's not been swallowing her pills and they've been dissolving in her mouth with is not great for anyone. We're trying to figure out how to get her medication to her with the least amount of difficulties as getting her to…
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Vet Admin Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers
Does anyone know anything about this VA program? My company is going to start requiring us to work in the office three days a week which will make taking care of my sister challenging and I may have to stop working. I'm wondering about this program. Has anyone applied for it?
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Rapid Decline(5)
Has anyone else experienced a rapid decline? I feel like mom went from "forgetful" to not remembering most things and becoming mean --almost overnight. We had to take her car away so not sure if this exacerbated it but it has been so fast and so awful. Thanks
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Rapid Decline(7)
Hello! My mother was just diagnosed on Sept 8, and I’m slightly confused about a few things the doctor said during the appointment. My mother had her first evaluation in April with our family doctor, who suspected Alzheimer’s, but she was only testing as having mild cognitive impairment, I think her score was 24. Fast…
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Rapid Decline w/out diagnosis
Rapid Decline w/no diagnosis (prior TBI) Hi, all- Approximately 5 years ago, my (now) 63 year old father was involved in a car accident and suffered a TBI and spinal injury. He underwent surgery for the spinal injury, and the TBI did not immediately seem to cause any significant cognitive issues. He was able to return to…
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Emotional/Verbal abuse vs. Physical abuse
Because I can chalk this day up to yet another of a string of being yelled at etc. I’d like to know why we ,meaning the people that are caregivers, are supposed to justify our LO ‘s poor behavior because their brain is broken and accept the verbal and emotional abuse, but as soon as it becomes physical we need to have a…
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When to suggest palliative care
My neighbor is age 91 years, with congestive heart failure, arthritis and macular degeneration, no dementia. She complains often of difficulty breathing. She spends most of her time in bed, getting up only to eat small meals which her housekeeper sets out for her, and to go to the bathroom. She refuses to go to urgent care…
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Conference: Caring For People With Memory Loss
CARING FOR PEOPLE WITH MEMORY LOSS JUNE 3, 2023 | 8:00 AM -4:30 PM CST | HYBRID CONFERENCE FREE HYBRID CONFERENCE REGISTER NOW! Choose to attend in-person or virtually via Zoom Join experts in a lively, informative discussion related to memory loss, caregiving tips, and what you can do to help. Register to attend for free…
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Bible Verse to Lift You Up 4/7/23
CURTAIN TORN WE NOW HAVE ACCESS TO GOD THE FATHER Luke 23:44-46 New International Version The Death of Jesus It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father,…
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Feeling judged
Dad was moved to MC almost two months ago from AL where he lived for almost three years after finding out he had Alzheimers. Dad also has just been diagnosed with cancer and has begun hospice. He has an old friend who has been judgmental of me for encouraging him to make the initial move and was vary angry at me when it…
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The programmers are trying
Today I got an email inviting me to complete a survey and then to participate in testing this website. So the organization is listening to us. However, they still have a few unrealistic expectations about the people using this website. Below is a partial paragraph about their test process: —…will be reaching out to you in…
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“Being Mortal” + hospice hospice hospice
Please please please take note: You do not have to decide yourself whether your LO is eligible for hospice. If your LO is declining, CALL THEM. Their assessment will give you the answer. You may not be ‘seeing’ what is clear to others. If you see your LO daily or even regularly,, sometimes their true condition is not…
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Support for mother-in-law
Hello. I recently got married. My husband want to live with his 84 year mother temporarily and I agreed. After a month I began seeing signs of mental and physical decline. My husband needs help but I have no clue on how. Apart of me feels resentment and the other part wants to support him. When I tell him about his mom…
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Confused
Husband was diagnosed in 2010 with moderate stage AD. The neurologist later said frontotemporal dementia. Thru 2017 there were no major problems. He drove, walked daily, handled money. In 2018 after being hospitalized twice with pneumonia things went down hill. He started getting lost driving &/or walking. He turned left…
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How Did Things Escalate So Bad So Fast
A few days ago I posted my first post on this website asking for advice. I was thinking I might have to put my DH in MC because he was starting to become aggressive . It was just a passing thought in my mind. I didn't thing it was anything urgent. Everyone who responded was so kind and nonjudgmental and gave me such good…
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Dementia post surgery affects
My sister in law was in a bad accident and post surgery her dementia progressed from her being functional to what appears like end stages of alzheimers. She doesn't recognize people in the current timeline and doesn't want to eat or drink and is bed ridden. Is there any hope she might improve at all? Or are we looking at…
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bad day
I've been optimistic about my partner who is recently diagnosed (although the changes started earlier) but today, I felt angry at my partner for some trivial matter, that anger grew, but, ultimately I realized I was overwhelmed with grief and needed to cry about the future "my husband and I were going to have" that is now…
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Bible Verse to Lift You Up 5/8/23
Dear Friends, I so appreciate your comments. Thank you for each one. Hugs, Veronica (Ronnie) Badowski * Isaiah 30:21 “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’” * VICTORY THOUGHT: God communicates with me; He directs my life. * POWER PRAYER:…
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Nutrition and Alzheimer's Disease
This is a good reivew of the potential of various nutritional interventions to slow down the progression of mild and moderate Alzheimer's disease. https://neurosciencenews.com/nutrition-alzheimers-cognition-23180/
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When to know if it’s the right time to put your parents into AL and how to go about it.
I love my parents deeply and have a great deal of respect for them however my dad has concussion syndrome from 2 previous falls and a brain bleed that has caused slight dementia, an auditory processing disorder and speech issues. My mom suffers from dementia and sciatica and a need to never follow Drs. Orders or physical…
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Dementia Super Stars
I've been in the game so long now I forget that newly minted caregivers may not be aware of the GOAT of dementia caregiving. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Dementia Super Stars! Yeah, we got 'em.
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A recap of the World Premiere! And info on the next festival...
Hello caregivers! I got a recap of the Wine, Women, & Dementia World Premiere at the Julien Dubuque Int'l Film Festival, and the skinny on our next festival - we are headed to Vero Beach Film Festival in June! More details in the post: Lock up your sons and daughters, Florida, Wine, Women, & Dementia is headed your way!
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Just a vent
I am having a difficult mental health day today and keep oscillating between negative comments about myself in my mind. I'm also struggling with engaging with my mom, I'm just socially tapped out. I am so frustrated. Now I just found out that the one caregiver I have some animosity with is coming in about half an hour for…
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Update on Mom and Angel
I thought I’d start a new thread to update how my mom and her dog Angel are getting along in MC and see if anyone has any helpful suggestions in the next phase of this dilemma. I originally posted about my mom’s obsession regarding feeding her food to her dog, Angel, how that obsession makes him sick enough to require vet…