A Difficult Milestone and a New Realization It’s only been two weeks since my last update, but as I’ve been telling Hetty, and others, it feels like we hit a new milestone every week. And by milestone, I don’t mean just a small change—these are significant shifts that alter how we care for Heather and Read More
Tag: caregiver stress
Changes and updates…
It’s been a while since I updated here. I’ve been busy maintaining my YouTube channel, and that has taken up most of my free time. However, I now have a lot more free time because, as of a week ago, a professional caregiver started working for me. She arrives every day at 7:30 in the Read More
Stay Strong, You’re Not Alone – but it still hurts
In the “Things I Never Knew I Would Have To Get Good At” department
Heather was always a pro at shopping for clothes—nothing flashy, just high-quality, well-fitting, and practical pieces. She took real satisfaction in finding the right item at a good price and stretched out her buying process to make it last. She was never impulsive and never went overboard. But with everything falling apart, I suddenly found Read More
Food and eating habits
Heather has reached a point where she seems largely unaware of what she’s eating and shows little interest or desire for specific foods. While she previously had a preference for sweets, carbs, and similar foods, which is common among dementia patients, this has changed. Now, she appears somewhat apathetic toward food. Although she still has Read More
An art project… painting birds
Hetty used to visit on Fridays for art activities, hence the name of the book Fridays with Heather – 55 Art Projects for Dementia Care. She has since switched to Tuesdays, which doesn’t make any difference in the big scheme of things. Today is an art day. Hetty always keeps things as simple as possible, Read More
Caregiver tips – dishes
Here’s a quick caregiver tip When serving food try to serve finger foods or foods that don’t need manipulation or cutting. Also, try to use dishes that have a lip, like a wide bowl versus a flat plate that will allow food to slide off. In or case Heather uses just one hand, whether eating Read More
Heather then and now
At the request of one of my YouTube subscribers, I pulled together a few videos I recorded over the past three years, from before anything really started to happen with Heather. One of the earlier videos is a whale watching trip on Brier Island in Nova Scotia, where I’m quite sure there’s something wrong, but Read More
Fear based on not knowing what’s behind her – how this impacts daily activities – just figured this one out!
As I was laying in bed last night, suddenly a little light went on 💡, and I think I’ve come up with an explanation of why Heather has some hesitancy or fear in three particular daily functions: using the toilet, having a shower, and going to bed. Each of these activities has become a challenge Read More
Starting to see more of this
My housekeeping duties are ramping up with time, but I have things set up well enough here that I can stay on top of it. It’s not a big deal.