(The artwork is by Keats)










HOW DO YOU HELP SOMEONE WITH DEMENTIA UNDERSTAND THAT HE OR SHE NEEDS TO LIVE IN A CARE FACILITY?



http://wiki.answers.com/How do you help someone with dementia understand that he or she needs to live in a care facility

I really appreciate the votes and this award that has special personal meaning to me. I hope that it was and will continue to be useful advice for many people. I'd like to accept this great honor in memory of my sweet mom who recently passed away at 92. Although I am an RN, I really owe a great part of what I have learned about caring for and helping people with dementia by caring for my mom around the clock at home. She had dementia (a type slightly different from Alzheimer's, although they share many common symptoms and problems). She lived in our home for just over seven years, with the last five involving also many physical problems. Thinking out of the box and using things from around the house to substitute for medical equipment, or to meet a need for which there was no equipment, was a fun challenge, but I know that every tiny thing meant a huge difference in the quality of her life.

It is also through caring for her that I found WikiAnswers. Her care was demanding during the last five years, I had to turn her in the bed, etc., every two hours 24/7. I obviously got very little sleep, and sleep deprived was my constant state. If I had help with her care during the day some, I could nap a little longer than two hours at a time then, but I was always "the night shift" even if I weren't also covering the rest of the day. Trying to keep myself awake and alert, I began playing word games and other Jeopardy-like games on my computer, which wouldn't disturb the rest of the house at 3 am like the TV, and books just put me to sleep. It was then that I ran across WA and have been hooked ever since. And there were even people online at WA from across the world who were also awake! A whole new group of friends that I cherish.

Home care of elders is very demanding and most people do not have the ability to substitute total patient care in the home setting for inpatient care at nursing facilities, so I was frequently advising friends and others when their loved ones were at the point of needing to be in a facility or having other restrictions placed on their freedoms and needing to accept that. It has been a pleasure to help others with all the challenges in doing these things for loved ones at home. Thank you all again for the privilege to have one of my answers represent the advice available on Answers.com's WikiAnswers, there are so many good examples of that here, it is a real honor.






(See additional WAmmy awards below)


Other Past Professions:
Health Plan Insurance Executive, System Business Analyst, Medical Information Management Relational Data Base Designer, Nurse Consultant, Health Care System Software Consultant, Insurance Industry National Manager of Medical Utilization and Quality Management

Interests, Hobbies, and Activities:
Learning; Training Therapy Assistance Dogs; Training Companion Dogs; Volunteering at Rehabilitation Center with Therapy Assistance Dogs; Visiting Long Term Care Facilities with Companion Dogs; Terrier Grooming; Airedale Terrier Breed Enthusiast; Volunteer Horse Handler at Therapeutic Riding Center; Greyhound Adoption and Rescue Volunteer; "Backyard" Certified Wildlife Habitat; Deer, Fawn, and Other Critter Watching; Hummingbirds; Butterflies; Growing Orchids and Other Houseplants; Gardening of Herbs and Flowers; Pressed Flower Design: Floral Design; Tree Hugging; Ecology; Environmental Activist; Chilehead Gardening; Painting Watercolors and Acrylics; Architectural Design and Home Decorating; Antiques and Collectibles; Reupholstering and Refinishing Antiques; Hand Sewing, Textile Art, and Soft Sculpture; Collecting Coffee Tins, Grinders, and other Coffee Related Antiques; Gourmet Cooking; Chilehead Cooking; Recipe Creation; Chilehead Recipe Collecting; Reiki; Eclectic Spiritual Seeking; Native/First American Spiritualism, Medicine, and Totem Study; Texas Hold 'Em; Science Fiction; Beginner Juggling; Learning Words and Phrases in Other Languages, Yiddish at Present; ...



HOW DO YOU COPE IF YOUR CHILD HAS DIED AND YOU FEEL THAT YOU WANT TO DIE AS WELL?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How do you cope if your child has died and you feel that you want to die as well



CAN YOU SEE THROUGH WALLS?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_you_see_through_walls




WHICH CITIES STATES OR COUNTRIES HAVE DEATHS OR CASES OF SWINE FLU AND WHAT IS THE CURRENT SITUATION?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Which cities states or countries have deaths or cases of swine flu and what is the current situation




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http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_can_you_do_to_avoid_getting_swine_flu




IS IT TRUE THAT THE H1N1 VIRUS IS NOT NEW AND THAT THEY USED TO HAVE A VACCINE FOR IT THAT WOULD KILL PEOPLE?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is it true that the H1N1 virus is not new and that they used to have a vaccine for it that would kill people




WHO WAS THE FIRST PIG TO SPREAD SWINE FLU?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_was_the_first_pig_to_spread_swine_flu




WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF A MONSTER WAS ABOUT TO EAT YOU?

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What%20would%20you%20do%20if%20a%20monster%20was%20about%20to%20eat%20you

Never Grow a Wishbone Where a Backbone Ought to Be!

Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it. ~ Mark Twain


The problem with quotes on the Internet is that it is difficult to determine whether or not they are genuine. ~ Abraham Lincoln