Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Well it flew by, the 2 hours assisting Alma my friend with the big A.  The art project was definitely the reason, which was filling in a series of wavy segments with different colours then when one joined the sections one would see a lovely blend and combinations of color.  Alma who at one time was a draughtswoman in her former life (i.e. before retirement and the awful alzheimer's disease)cottoned on to this easily, finding just the right combination of colours to make her project interesting.

As usual we did take time out to have tea, look out at the lake, comment on the trees, birds, cars etc..plus read some of an article in the National Geographic.  Alma still reads, what she takes in is another story...At one point we were reading about Orca whales having a "feeding frenzy"...when I read it she thought I said "feeding friends",  "no dear she said that word is "frenzy", I said  - what I wonder is frenzy.she just looked at me and said "oh kind of a mess"...well somewhat I thought...it was an uneventful but lovely time, and leaving Alma was quite simple as she had to be toileted, and I could leave easily, putting the Easter Egg I brought on her bureau..and thought well another interesting day..as I always enjoy the people we are with and especially Alma...

Last week during our conversation, I mentioned her daughter Jackie, she said "are you talking about my Jackie",  and was so "on target", but this week, when Jackie waved to her ...she said, "now tell me dear, just what is that girl's name"...this is the heartbreak of Alzheimer's, In any case the heartbreak is there and the problems with this disease..so I took a picture of

      The Ten Commandments of Dementia

1,  Realize that you do the adapting and the modifying of your response to the resident's behaviour.

2. Realize that You enter the resident's reality rather than pull them into yours.

3.  Realize that ONE size does not fit all, when it comes to what will and what will not work for each individual.

4.. Realize that approaches and techniques are not 100% failure-free and that you must learn to be flexible.

5.  Realize that success means adapting the task to whatever the individual's highest level happens to be.

6.  Realize that the process is more important than the net result, and celebrate that process regardless of the outcome.

7.  Realize that you need to "do what it takes" when the tried and true methods have not been effective.

8 Realize that normalization is important in giving residents a sense of participating in their own lives as they see fit.

9. Realize that the family is an equal partner in the caregiving process and that educating them is up to you.

10.  Realize that through your caregiving, you hold the key to success of the resident's journey through this disease and that because of  this, you are a rare and special person

(Taken from the Methodist Home, Chicago, Illinois)

These Commandments are worth reading and using with so many who are going through this life as a person with "dementia", or the person who is considered the "caregiver"...

I'm planning to pass them on to the people in charge here at my own Residence....I hope the reader finds some worth  in these words not only with dementia patients, but with so many others who deserve respect and help.