Getting out of the house

As Alzheimer's progresses I've noticed it getting harder to get my Mom out of bed, that's were therapeutical fibs come in.

She can and will stay in bed all day if she is able to but I try to keep her as active as possible. When the weekends come she especially wants to stay in bed of course I let her stay in since we all need to rest but once I notice she its more of a depression or laziness I tell her that it's a weekday and she gets up really fast which works wonders. If its later in the day I try coaching her to get out if bed or tell her I have a surprise trip for her which she loves hearing Trying to find the right words can be tricky and do not work all the time that's when I'm thankful for Alzheimer's and that she will forget in ten minutes then we can try it all over again and hope for the best.

There have been times I have had to treat her as a child and be playful and tell her that the doggies will get her if she doesn't get out if bed and that has worked in the past, it's all about trial and error.

The one thing that will not work is of we as Caregivers get upset and raise our voices. They are still our loved ones and need to be showed respect even though it might be hard at times when we are stressing trying to get out the door we are running late that's why I plan our trips out of the house in the later mornings and give me a few hours to get us ready.

Respite Time

As a Caregiver having respite time is very essential to not only the well-being of the Caregiver but of the Loved One/Patient with the disease. 

At times I feel guilty that I need to say "I need time off!" because I personally feel that I am saying I don't love my Mom but it's the opposite I have learned.  I love my Mom so much that I need a break once in a while to just regroup and rest so I can be a better Caregiver for her and not have any resentment or become so exhausted that I become ill myself. 

I know my life has changed tremendously from five years ago when I used to come and go and do whatever I wanted whenever I wanted but now someone else depends on me and my time is restricted but I am thankful that I have my Sister Alby, my Niece Alexys who are in this journey with us.  We also have a Friend of the family, Charise who has become my Mom's number one Companion and my Mom is always saying how Charise is another Daughter that God has sent her.  I am very blessed to have them in my life and help make caregiving a bit easier to handle. 

Respite time can be anything that a Caregiver makes it out be.  It could be going on a week long vacation to taking an hour away to get their nails done, getting coffee with a friend, watching a movie,  or going for a walk around the block.  As long as a Caregiver gets some away time to recharge that's what is the most important for both the Caregiver and Patient.

Activities to keep the brain active

To help my Mom keep her brain activeand help slow the Alzheimer's process we do many activities that I havementioned in the past such as:

- Word searches

- Music therapy

- Dance therapy

- Language therapy

- Memory games such as Leap Frogmemory card games

- Flash cards - Presidents andUnited States trivia games

- Taking Omega Fish oil

- Playing puzzles

- We volunteer with our localnon-profits

(Check out your county's Alzheimer's association for volunteer opportunities)

For those of us without Alzheimer'swe can do the same activities as above but we can also do some other ones I amlisting below:

- Learn a different language

- Write and eat with the oppositehand you are used to

- Put on our pants using the otherleg instead of the usual one first (we are used to doing this without thinkingat time so if we do something different that the brain is not used to, it willmake our brain work a bit more)

- Eating foods rich in omega fishoil or taking omega vitamins

- Playing crosswords or Sudoku

- Exercising at least 30 minutes 5days a week, it can be as easy as walking 30 minutes a day

- Pick up a book (and read it!)

- Sign-up for dance classes

Having fun

We were invited to a friend's birthday hoe-down last Saturday 7/14 and Mom had fun with the miniature horses, animals are great therapy for the elderly. She also now loves funny hats and Mickey ears, this one was a party favor which will be included to get collection of funny hats.

Music and Dance Therapy

Here is a picture of Mom listening to boleros from Ecuador and dancing El San Juanito like she used to when she was younger. The music brings back good memories for her and the dancing part even though it's only half a song gets her up and moving. This continues for about an hour and she truly enjoys it.

Happy 4th of July

Family, friends, food and fireworks!!! Perfect time to get together with loved ones. When someone has Alzheirmer's plans don't always go as planned.

I wanted to go out to the Huntington Beach parade with friends but Mom didn't want to get out if bed. Long story short we weren't having breakfast until 11am only because I told her Starbucks was having free coffee today. Sometimes you just have roll with the punches and try to enjoy the time given.

My Mom although born in Ecuador is a true patriotic, I bought her a American flag with all the states on it and she loves it. I saw this pillow in a trip to Missouri and knew I had to get it for her. She reads out all the states on the pillow on many nights which I love hearing her call them out.

Happy 4th of July to all.

Memory Tools

To help keep my Mom's memory as active as possible and help the slow down of Alzheimer's we do different activities.  When we are not out doing errands and going to festivals and public events we are at home playing Leap Frog: My Card Games such as Bilingual Memory Game which although her English is limited I still have her "learn" English by playing this game.  They are simple names such fruit, animals, and such.  

I also have the Ecuadorian channel on our Direct TV package that brings her memories of her younger years back in her home country.  

We play Ecuadorian music as well from YouTube which helps us get to know her more at times when she tells us stories we have not heard before, we also dance to the music when she is up to it.

I subscribed her to National Geographic in Spanish few years back and we kept the magazines and she reads them over.  The same goes for the word search magazines that she loves playing the games, the words are in English so it's another benefit when I see her run to get her dictionary to look up the definition in Spanish.

Another tool we use are President flash cards that I got from Target, the story behind those cards were that a Teacher in front of me was buying all of them and when I saw that she had over 30 in her basket I asked her where she found them so I can get one for my Mom and she said she had taken all of them and asked why for my Mom, I explained she had Alzheimer's and I find ways to keep her brain working, she smiled and went ahead and bought all of them then turned back and gave me one.  I wish I could thank her for generosity.  We play with these flashcards about once a week and she loves reading the back of them, she even finds some of them "handsome."  I go over what we call the "simple" Presidents to remember although she now gets our First President and 16th President mixed up, other times she is very lucid and even remembers her favorite President.  (President Kennedy)