Hello out there, I found this site looking for more knowledge about my mothers Alzheimer. (excuse my English, I'm Dutch) It has been a great help so far understanding better what is happening to her. My mother suffers from Alzheimer since approx 1 year. She lives in a sheltered apartment in a home for elderly people. Together the caretakers in the home and her 6 children (we take turns, she sees one of them every day) manage okee. But of course, things are getting worse. She now seldom remembers what day it is, has a problem with bathing, clean clothes, etc. Most problem we can solve as they appear. Yet lately she forgets that she has to be at the daycare center at 11.00, she forgets to go downstairs to eat on the other days, forgets to take here medicine and (still just sometimes) forgets the name of one of her children or grandchildren when they visit her. The calendar we keep on her table on which we write all daily appointments just isn't enough anymore. I would like your comment on an idea: there are softwareprograms that diplay a clock, the day of the week and shows the next appointment. Also you can show pictures in a preprogrammed schedule. All very easy and I could feet the program with good morning greetings, the appointments, pictures, etc remote from my home-computer. The only problem is that to show the information on a screen in my mothers apartment we'll have to place a computer in her room as well. I don't think that that is a good idea, she'll probably turn the strange thing off as soon as she finds it. I spent a few days searching the internet for a display with a very small built-in computer (like a 15' photo frame or so). Something like that on the wall would probably not disturb her. Helas, it doesn't exist (???) My question: would something like this be helpful ??? Maybe I can find a way to have it manufactured but it would take a lot of effort and I have no idea whether it might be helpful. Can anyone comment on this?
Hi Monique,
Welcome to our community! I think you'll get the best response from others in our Alzheimer's support group, so I'm going to move your question there. I'm betting the care givers in that group will have some good suggestions for you.
Wow, I admire your resourcefulness in a tough time. You're probably right that creating such a product and bringing it to market would take too much time, because it sounds like your mother needs help now. I'm not aware of a device exactly like you've described that combines a clock with reminders and images, although it sounds like you've seen the products that do each thing separately. (See examples at alzstore.com.)
As to how helpful electronic reminders would be, they would still requires your mom to notice the messages in time, read them, and act on them. She could still forget the message by the time she left her room, since her recent memory is impaired. By the time that someone forgets remembering to take care of basic personal needs such as bathing or eating, it's likely that they need increased human assistance to do these things. An electronic prompt, which can be helpful in early Alzheimer's, probably wouldn't be enough now. Alzheimer's is a progressive disease, so it sounds like her symptoms and needs have changed from a year ago.
Can her caretakers help with these specific needs more often? Or is there a way to bring in more help, such as an elder companion who checks in on her regularly throughout the day to help with meals, or volunteer who can come in advance to escort her to appointments?
Thanks for the tip on alzstore. The problem is my mother will not understand the English version of the clock, nor the German version I found elsewhere. There is no Dutch version. And yes, maybe you're right and I'm too late anyway. It's just so sad and so confusing, I'm the only one of her children who lives further away. To visit her a few hours is a days drive. As we are the sole caretakers of the 93 years old mother of my husband who is mentally okee but physically very weak, there is only once or sometimes twice a month time for a trip like that. Yet I feel I should help my sister, who is the first caretaker for my own mother (within the family), more.
Our 4 brothers are okee but they aren’t any help in daily care. They visit her, have her over to there homes for dinner and a nice evening 2 times a week, and things like that. They wouldn’t know where to begin if they had to talk to her about taking a shower or changing her clothes. Very caring but useless in caretaking.
“Can her caretakers help with these specific needs more often? Or is there a way to bring in more help, such as an elder companion who checks in on her regularly throughout the day to help with meals, or volunteer who can come in advance to escort her to appointments?” Today my sister called and told me that the caretakers of the home can’t get her to take that shower any more, she now refuses every day or just lies about already having done that. Also the volunteer we asked to come every morning for her medicines seems to have more trouble. For other things there just aren’t enough people at the home (what’s new).
The confusing part is that when I'm with my mother she agrees in almost everything. She takes a shower, puts on fresh cloths, takes her medicine, etc. Its not without any battle but it works in the end. Probably it's because she thinks of us coming as a party, we take her out driving to places she lived in the past and always end the trip with a nice diner. Its like bribing her or maybe its more like shooing my own bad conscience. She seems far better when we’re there than she really is. Sometimes I recognize things they tell me when I’m on the phone with her, things like anger arising within a split second when we talk about ‘wrong’ things, her complaining that it’s so quit, or her telling me that she hasn’t seen anyone all day (which is not true). Stupid stupid stupid disease!!!
No questions in this, just me being very sad and feeling helpless about everything. Thank you for listening.
I didn't think about the language angle for the products. Sounds like you're doing your best in a hard spot, and that counts for a lot. It's probably little consolation that millions of people are experiencing the same thing. Being at a distance is especially hard. I don't know what the care landscape is in your country re: other care options. Here there are places that specialize in dementia care. At least you recognize that it's the disease that's behind all these difficult behaviors; it's not her. No answer there but lots of empathy.
Receive the latest news and tips in your inbox