Alzheimer's Disease and Wandering:
Here is an outstanding article written by Bob DeMarco from the Alzheimers Reading Room
"_____________________________________
Wandering is among the most unsettling and even terrifying behaviors people with Alzheimer's disease display. Often poorly clad, they leave safety at random hours and strike out into unknown territory, for no apparent reason. But this seemingly aimless activity usually does have a reason. It's often an attempt to communicate after language skills have been lost.
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Sunday, November 21, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
What's it like, living with Alzheimer's?
Well today is Saturday and we are having some nice weather, so here I am "Inside" writing in the blog! If it was cold and raining outside, I would want to be outside cutting grass. Is that what Alzheimer's like? Your body is doing one thing, while your brain is trying to do something else? Or wanting to do one thing, while your actually doing another? I think it is both Yes, and No! No, it is not quite like that, but Yes, it is almost as simple as that. OK Brian, you got me confused! Speak English, or Earthling, or something else we can understand.
Living with someone that has Dementia/Alzheimer's is very much like living with a normal person for the better part of the day. In the respect that there is normal behavior, and normal conversation for a good portion of the day. Then there is some off the wall, abnormal, unbelievable, confusing behavior. Which is what I mean by wanting to physically do something, while mentaly doing something else.
Well this confuses me, my first reaction is to say no, or to state that no one is here, or no that did not happen. That may or may not start an argument, or frighten Bill. So I pretend that his reality is real to me as well, and attempt to steer him away from the Hallucinations, or delusions by changing the subject, or distracting his attention. One day he started having a discussion with one of his sons that in my reality was not in our house. His son was ignoring him and would not answer him, Bill started getting madder and madder. He finally got up looked at me, and said come on, we're leaving, If the S.O.B. will not talk to me, then there is no use staying here. Bill then leaves the house and climbs into my truck. Now the problem is, we are at my house and his son was 30 miles away in his own home. So, I get into the truck, drive Bill down to the local gas station, Quick-It # 8 buy him a candy bar and drink, and go right back home to our house. By the time we made it home, he was back to my reality and had forgotten all about his son ignoring him. We drove two and a half miles down the road, two and a half back,
10 minutes had passed. It does not take much to distract, and ease the tension, all you need to do is change the environment long enough for them to calm down, and step back into your reality.
A hallucination is a false perception of objects or events involving the senses. When individuals with Alzheimer’s disease have a hallucination, they see, hear, smell, taste or feel something that isn’t there.
Delusional disorder, previously called paranoid disorder, is a type of serious mental illness called a "psychosis" in which a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined. The main feature of this disorder is the presence of delusions, which are unshakable beliefs in something untrue. People with delusional disorder experience non-bizarre delusions, which involve situations that could occur in real life, such as being followed, poisoned, deceived, conspired against, or loved from a distance. These delusions usually involve the misinterpretation of perceptions or experiences. In reality, however, the situations are either not true at all or highly exaggerated.
When people suffering from Alzheimer's suffer Hallucinations, or Delusions they may think that you are a stranger trying to cause them harm, when in fact you are a loved one, trying to help them. This is what often causes Alzheimer sufferers to get violent and lash out. Hallucinations and delusions, are often what causes Alzheimer sufferers to wonder off. They think they are somewhere other than where they really are, or they think they are going towards a destination that only exist in their reality. The situations that stem from hallucinations and delusions are very dangerous not only to the Alzheimer victim, but to the Caregiver as well.
Living with someone that has Dementia/Alzheimer's is very much like living with a normal person for the better part of the day. In the respect that there is normal behavior, and normal conversation for a good portion of the day. Then there is some off the wall, abnormal, unbelievable, confusing behavior. Which is what I mean by wanting to physically do something, while mentaly doing something else.
- Bill will put a blanket down on the couch or bed, lie down on top of it, then try to cover up with it while its trapped underneath him.
- I will tell Bill to take off his shirt so I can shave him, I turn around, and he will be completely naked.
- I will tell Bill that we will drive into town "Tomorrow" and do something, he will go climb into the truck right then.
- He "Dips Snuff" he will attempt to take the lid off the can, but have it upside down. I will say Bill turn it over. He will spin it round and round in his hand. I will have to explain very carefully. "Bill, stop! now flip the can upside down" He will then flip it to where the lid is on top.
- We will walk somewhere, and I will lead him by the arm telling him to turn left, he will turn to the right, and no matter how hard I pull him to the left, and keep saying "this way Bill, this way." He will keep trying his hardest to pull and turn the opposite way.
- I put a plate of food down in front of him, he will look at my plate clear across the table, reach across the table and grab my plate. "I say no, your plate is in front of you!" He will look down at his plate say "Oh", then look back up at me, look across the table, lean across the table and grab my plate again.
- On a daily basis he will do one of the following, he will get up to go pee, open the front door, and pee on the porch. Get up to go spit outside, and spit in the hallway leading to the bedrooms. He will get up to go out on the front porch and end up in his bedroom wondering where the front door is. I have caught him several times trying to climb out of his bedroom window while trying to get to the front porch on the other side of the house.
Well this confuses me, my first reaction is to say no, or to state that no one is here, or no that did not happen. That may or may not start an argument, or frighten Bill. So I pretend that his reality is real to me as well, and attempt to steer him away from the Hallucinations, or delusions by changing the subject, or distracting his attention. One day he started having a discussion with one of his sons that in my reality was not in our house. His son was ignoring him and would not answer him, Bill started getting madder and madder. He finally got up looked at me, and said come on, we're leaving, If the S.O.B. will not talk to me, then there is no use staying here. Bill then leaves the house and climbs into my truck. Now the problem is, we are at my house and his son was 30 miles away in his own home. So, I get into the truck, drive Bill down to the local gas station, Quick-It # 8 buy him a candy bar and drink, and go right back home to our house. By the time we made it home, he was back to my reality and had forgotten all about his son ignoring him. We drove two and a half miles down the road, two and a half back,
10 minutes had passed. It does not take much to distract, and ease the tension, all you need to do is change the environment long enough for them to calm down, and step back into your reality.
A hallucination is a false perception of objects or events involving the senses. When individuals with Alzheimer’s disease have a hallucination, they see, hear, smell, taste or feel something that isn’t there.
Delusional disorder, previously called paranoid disorder, is a type of serious mental illness called a "psychosis" in which a person cannot tell what is real from what is imagined. The main feature of this disorder is the presence of delusions, which are unshakable beliefs in something untrue. People with delusional disorder experience non-bizarre delusions, which involve situations that could occur in real life, such as being followed, poisoned, deceived, conspired against, or loved from a distance. These delusions usually involve the misinterpretation of perceptions or experiences. In reality, however, the situations are either not true at all or highly exaggerated.
When people suffering from Alzheimer's suffer Hallucinations, or Delusions they may think that you are a stranger trying to cause them harm, when in fact you are a loved one, trying to help them. This is what often causes Alzheimer sufferers to get violent and lash out. Hallucinations and delusions, are often what causes Alzheimer sufferers to wonder off. They think they are somewhere other than where they really are, or they think they are going towards a destination that only exist in their reality. The situations that stem from hallucinations and delusions are very dangerous not only to the Alzheimer victim, but to the Caregiver as well.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
In Bill's Company
It seems like everyday Bill has an Alzheimer's moment, some funny, some sad, but all noteworthy. Problem is, that I seem to forget them from day to day, which makes it hard for me to dedicate a whole entry for it. So enjoy what tidbits I do write, and please feel free to comment and add to them.
Today Bill was sitting on the love seat on one end, and he had a pillow and blanket on the other end. He kept lifting up the pillow, putting it down, lifting up the blanket and put it down. He was obviously looking for something, I sat and watched him for approximately 10 minutes. He just kept repeating the same thing, lifting up the pillow, looking under it, picking up the blanket looking under it, rinse and repeat.
I finally asked, "Bill what are you looking for"? Well, I had a can I thought I put here, and I can't find it. "What was in that can Bill"? Well, I had some dirt and other stuff I had put in there, at least I thought I did. "What was the other stuff that was in the can besides dirt"? I asked. Just some dust and stuff I picked up and put in there, I think, but now I am not so sure!
Of course there was no can of dirt or anything. At least not in my reality.
Here we are 10 minutes later and Bill ask me. "Tell me one thing. What are we doing here"? Well, right now we are watching TV, I replied. "Besides that, what are we doing here"? Well we live here Bill. He does his nervous laugh and says "Well, maybe you do, but I don't live here." Now How can I argue with that? He has been living here for the better part of a year now, and I still have to remind him once a day that this is where he lives.
Today Bill was sitting on the love seat on one end, and he had a pillow and blanket on the other end. He kept lifting up the pillow, putting it down, lifting up the blanket and put it down. He was obviously looking for something, I sat and watched him for approximately 10 minutes. He just kept repeating the same thing, lifting up the pillow, looking under it, picking up the blanket looking under it, rinse and repeat.
I finally asked, "Bill what are you looking for"? Well, I had a can I thought I put here, and I can't find it. "What was in that can Bill"? Well, I had some dirt and other stuff I had put in there, at least I thought I did. "What was the other stuff that was in the can besides dirt"? I asked. Just some dust and stuff I picked up and put in there, I think, but now I am not so sure!
Of course there was no can of dirt or anything. At least not in my reality.
Here we are 10 minutes later and Bill ask me. "Tell me one thing. What are we doing here"? Well, right now we are watching TV, I replied. "Besides that, what are we doing here"? Well we live here Bill. He does his nervous laugh and says "Well, maybe you do, but I don't live here." Now How can I argue with that? He has been living here for the better part of a year now, and I still have to remind him once a day that this is where he lives.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
August 4, 2010 Six Nursing Home Employees Arrested
August 4, 2010
Six Nursing Home Employees Arrested for Shocking Prank on Elderly
It was announced this morning that six nursing home workers were arrested for playing a cruel prank on several residents at the Valley View Skilled Nursing Facility. According to a release from the California Attorney General's office, the employees applied a slippery ointment cream over the bodies of seven elderly nursing home residents to make them "slippery" for the oncoming shift. It is believed that the residents were selected because all suffered from advanced dementia, and could not object to the mistreatment.
"As part of a cruel and shocking prank, these caregivers abused defenseless elders," AG Jerry Brown said. "This is despicable behavior by people placed in a position of trust."
After an investigation by the California Bureau of Elder Abuse, the district attorney's office has filed a misdemeanor criminal charge against each employee for injury to elder or dependent adult; battery committed on elder or a dependent adult; conspiracy; and battery committed while on hospital property.
Please note that once again we charge these wonderful "Caregivers" with Misdemeanor's for their behavior.
Six Nursing Home Employees Arrested for Shocking Prank on Elderly
It was announced this morning that six nursing home workers were arrested for playing a cruel prank on several residents at the Valley View Skilled Nursing Facility. According to a release from the California Attorney General's office, the employees applied a slippery ointment cream over the bodies of seven elderly nursing home residents to make them "slippery" for the oncoming shift. It is believed that the residents were selected because all suffered from advanced dementia, and could not object to the mistreatment.
"As part of a cruel and shocking prank, these caregivers abused defenseless elders," AG Jerry Brown said. "This is despicable behavior by people placed in a position of trust."
After an investigation by the California Bureau of Elder Abuse, the district attorney's office has filed a misdemeanor criminal charge against each employee for injury to elder or dependent adult; battery committed on elder or a dependent adult; conspiracy; and battery committed while on hospital property.
Please note that once again we charge these wonderful "Caregivers" with Misdemeanor's for their behavior.
September 4th, 2010 Caregiver shows what caring is all about.
September 4th, 2010. Once again, another caregiver, offering loving care, to our elderly that can no longer defend themselves, but are unable to put voice to their treatment as well.
August 23, 2010 Elder Abuse by in home Caregiver
| Home aide abuses 91-year-old Jersey City woman |
This stupidity carried on multiple times a day from August 23rd, 2010 until August 29th, 2010. I really do not think there is anything else I can add without using totally inappropriate language!
Physical abuse of our senior citizens is the second most common form of elder mistreatment. Only neglect is more common. It is estimated that for every reported incident of elder abuse, five incidents are not reported. If you suspect that your loved one is a victim of elder abuse, contact authorities immediately. For various state hotlines, please visit the National Center on Elder Abuse website.
Friday, November 12, 2010
June 18, 2010 Nursing Home Abuse, Caught On Tape, Shows Vulnerability of Elderly To Neglect
Friday, June 18, 2010, 02:14 PM - Nursing Homes
Wonder what it is like to be an elderly resident of a nursing home and totally dependent on your care givers for help? Then watch this!
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