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January 26, 2009 Shop
Now in the Our Caregiver's e-Mall is filling up with great stores and a growing number of items just in time for the holidays. Whether you browse and find a book or tape to help you with caregiving, or come across a wonderful gift for a friend or family member, the e-Mall can be your source for easy shopping and gift-giving. So, click on the dark blue Caregiver's e-Mall buttons throughout our site and enter a comfortable, secure shopping experience with major merchants while avoiding the hassle of having to find a parking place or matching your shopping hours with someone else's. Our mall is just a click away and is open 24 hours every day. Watch for additional stores opening in the e-Mall soon!
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Posted: April 12, 2004 Practical CaregivingGuarding Against Elderly Wandering and Handling Siblings Who Ignore Caregiving Preparations Watching your
loved one?s mind and memory steadily disappear from the ravages of
Alzheimer?s or dementia is especially stressful, but when that same
person wanders away and doesn?t find their way home, stress quickly
becomes almost unbearable worry for the caregiver. Miriam wants to know
how to deal with her father?s wandering throughout the neighborhood,
and she also will want to make his home secure and safe. Meanwhile, George
knows his elderly mother is going to need help and wisely wants to plan
ahead for his mother?s future. Unfortunately, his siblings don?t agree
with his planning approach. What to do about this very common
situation? The answer might surprise you. These questions
are posed in the latest batch of emails pulled from my eMailbag. Write
me at ASKJEAN@caregivershome.com
and I?ll try to help. My dad has
suffered several TIA?s (Ed. Note: Transient ischemic attack; i.e.,
mini-stroke-like event). His dementia seems worse and he has fallen
several times. He has walked out of the house and gone quite a
distance. My mother and I are deeply troubled by this, but we have no
idea how to stop him from taking these walks. It seems only a matter of
time before he becomes one of these missing elderly people we see on
the news that have wandered off. Any suggestions you have are truly
appreciated. Thanks so much. Miriam,
Seattle, Washington Dear Miriam: Your worries are
completely justified. Fortunately, there are several things you can do.
And while wandering outside the house is your main concern, you should
also be concerned that he doesn?t have a problem inside the house. While taking
action yourself, you should also check with your father?s doctor to
determine whether his medicines might cause some of his wandering
problems, and you should ask whether other medicines might actually
help in this area. At home, there
are several areas you should look into to make sure he is safe. One of the main
safety measures is to install door locks he can?t open. I bought a
slide bolt lock and put it at the top of the doors so Mom couldn?t open
them. There are also
special doorknob covers you can buy to put on the outside of your round
doorknobs to keep your father from opening them. These are often used
to keep small children from opening doors, and the effect would be the
same for your dad. They are loose fitting and turn without opening the
door. Of course, there is a chance he might still open the door without
taking the cover off -- parents do this all the time with young
children ? so you still need to be watchful. Make sure all the
doors leading to any stairs are closed and locked so he can?t open
them. You wouldn?t want him to open a door and fall down the stairs. Install handrails
around the house for him to hold onto when he walks between rooms. When
Mom walked around and started falling, she sometimes would try to grab
something to keep from falling. A lot of the time, though, she couldn?t
react fast enough and simply fell. Try to move things out of the way so
when he does fall, he won?t fall onto a sharp object like a fireplace
poker. Make sure everything is picked up off the floor so he won?t
stumble. It is essential
that he doesn?t wander into the kitchen and turn the stove on. Is there
a way you can keep him from gaining access to the kitchen? He might
turn the knobs simply because they turn. Can you remove the knobs from
the stove? Some stoves have that feature. My son was going to cook
something and had a pan sitting on the stove with oil in it, but the
burner was not turned on. Mom walked into the kitchen and turned the
burner on - starting a fire (I guess we were lucky she didn?t blow up
the house!). My son put the fire out, but Mom couldn?t even move until
it was out. That?s when she yelled, ?Fire!? Look at every
area of your house for safety concerns. Try to think of everything he
might do while wandering that could cause harm to him, someone else or
even your house. Check out my February 2004 column, Is
Your Loved One?s Home Senior-Safe? Tell your
neighbors about the problem so they will know to return him home if
they spot him outside the house or on the street. Buy a medical
bracelet that says something like, ?I am an Alzheimer?s patient, please
contact my family at . . .? Include his name and address, and your name
and phone number. That way anyone who reads it will know he needs their
help. The Alzheimer?s
Association has a nationwide program called Safe Return. This program
has located and returned many registered patients who have wandered
away. You can register for this program by calling 1-888-572-8566 any
time, day or night, or by contacting your local chapter or visiting the
website at http://www.alz.org/. You can locate a
local chapter of the Alzheimer?s Association by calling 1-800-272-3900.
You can also ask your local Alzheimer's Association chapter about any
programs available to cover the cost of registration, if this is a
hardship for you. Also, check out
this Ask an Expert question-and-answer on our site, Elderly
Behavior: When Dad Won't Sleep. Hope this helps. I am the youngest
son of an 87-year-old mother who still lives alone in her home. I have
a brother and a sister who live closer to our mother than I do. We have
two different approaches to mother?s care. My approach is to look ahead
as much as possible and make the environment as safe as possible. Their
approach is to take things as they come. Any thoughts or suggestions? George,
Boulder, Colorado Dear George: Don?t argue with
your family about your mother and her future. Pressing your point would
only cause hard feelings and create problems between you and your
mother, sister and brother. Not everyone wants to know what might
happen or think about the future in the way you (rightly) do. They want
to take care of things when something does happen. I suggest you
learn as much as you can about what to do in various situations that
might befall your mother. However, at this time I wouldn?t tell the
rest of your family what you are learning and what you intend to do.
When the time comes that they need the answers you can step forward
with the knowledge. You will never have all the answers and you will
never use everything you learn, but you will be better prepared for
what does happen. © 2004 Pederson Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Commercial use, redistribution or other forms of reuse of this information is strictly prohibited without the prior written permission of Pederson Publishing. ______ Please send me your questions, comments and issues regarding the practical side of caregiving at ASKJEAN@caregivershome.com, and remember to take advantage of our professionals and experts in the Ask an Expert section of our website. You'll find it in the left column on our homepage. |
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