Caring for a Loved One with Dementia

Caring for a Loved One with Dementia There is Help…

I am finally getting some help – it is such a relief. Dementia is such an awful thing to deal with. My wonderful neurologist suggested in home health it turns out that my insurance pays for it, and since we have satisfied our deductible, we do not have to pay anything. So we have a nurse, physical therapist, occupational therapist and a speech therapist.

We just had our initial consultation – now the hard work begins. The occupational therapist had some great suggestions such as getting a bed cane so that getting in and out of bed isn’t so hard. I have to help him a lot of times – also getting into bed is not always easy.

The physical therapist is having him do exercises to build strength and prevent falls. The nurse checks all the vital signs once a week. His blood pressure, oxygen, pulses are excellent.

However, the biggest surprise of all is the speech therapist – she was amazing. Speech therapists don’t just work with speech, but they also work with social communications and cognitive communication. She actually is coming up with visual cues and things to do so that the problems we have are reduced.

This woman was just what I needed – I cannot have a male come into the house without my husband thinking I am having an affair it is horrible. He even tells me things I am saying that are not reality.

Sara explained to me that when someone with this type of dementia hears a small portion of something there brain works to fill in the details, and those details are real to him. Her words and her actions were so soothing and calming – she told him he could be happy, but we had to trust each other. She understood how hard it was and things are changing, but he needs to put his trust in my as his wife, so we can have a better life, and he can find peace.

She sat close to him and talked in a soothing voice with so much empathy. Sara also gave me a list of ways to communicate with someone who has dementia, and boy did I need that list.

We are going to be making a memory book – something that he can look at when he is confused. I am not sure how this is going to work but I am game for anything at this point.

God protect him, help me cope and thank you for sending Sara…