A Glimpse Back to November This is just a quick peek back to about six months ago, in November of last year. I asked Heather to help me find the circuit that powered the undercabinet lights in our kitchen. In the old days, I could get her to watch the light and shout or stomp Read More
Tag: caregiver stress
Accepting new “things”… the new one is a fear of water in the shower
Hi everybody! Here’s a short video where I talk about how the challenge I had to adapt to last month was that Heather stopped using utensils while eating food, and she started eating with her fingers instead. The video goes on to explain how there’s a new thing, and that’s a fear of water in Read More
Fake it till you make it – neuroplasticity in dementia care – choosing happy
Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or brain plasticity, is the ability of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. It is when the brain is rewired to function in some way that differs from how it previously functioned. It’s the “fake it till you make it” principle. Another expression that Read More
Renovations – moving to the ground floor – time to get a hospital style bed
Heather is experiencing increasing muscle stiffness and loss of mobility, which seems common in dementia. In fact this is often what leads to their demise, when they also lose the ability to swallow correctly, leading to aspiration pneumonia. So the writing is on the wall that it’s time to think about the house more as Read More
How to reach maximum alertness in the morning
This morning at 8 AM, Heather shuffled out of bed and stood still at its foot, which is when incontinence happens if I don’t intervene immediately. So, I sprang into action, guiding her by the shoulders to the bathroom where I got her seated for a pee. Her diaper was heavy as usual, so I Read More
Balancing care help and considerations for the future
Using tech in dementia care
I’m a self-admitted tech nerd. I’ve been an early adopter since the very first PCs were available, and I love buying new stuff—from action cameras to Apple products or oddball geeky items that catch my attention. So naturally, I’ve adopted some tech to help with the dementia caregiving job. GPS tracking with Life360 When this Read More
Observation: My Caregiver Equilibrium Recovery Ratio
Call me crazy, but here’s my totally unsupported and unscientific observation: I believe I have a 1:1 caregiver equilibrium recovery ratio. What does that mean? For every full day that I spend on my own caregiving, I need at least one hour of complete freedom to stop feeling like I’ve been hit by a truck. Read More
RIP Heather’s Glasses
What now? She often leaves her glasses on the bed… I believed it was harmless enough but this is what I saw this morning. This is where the Backup Glasses came in. Note to self: Always keep one or two previous pairs in a drawer… you do that too right? This leaves me thinking, what Read More
Long term caregiver stress is a thing
I was invited out for a bite to eat this week prior to my weekly band practice (that I never miss under any circumstances). The problem was that the social event would’ve started at exactly the time my daughter arrives to relieve me for the evening, so I could possibly make it a few minutes Read More
