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
Tag: dementia daily routines
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
The Bum Blaster 3000!
Every once in a while there’s a Code Brown with a challenging and somewhat panicky cleanup. The existing shower wand in the downstairs shower was an anemic gentle thing that just isn’t cut out for this type of cleanup. That where today’s installation of the Bum Blaster 3000! comes in. One has to stay on 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
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
Heartbreak in daily routines
As Heather’s personal hygiene has slipped it’s become apparent that she needs a daily shower. I do this with her as she can’t figure out soap and body washing on her own anymore and she can’t follow even the simplest of spoken instructions. So I hop in and gently do it all from shampooing to Read More
Coping and coming up with systems and solutions
Coping: People keep saying “Remember to take care of yourself…” which sure sounds important, and is always delivered with kindness, but doesn’t contain any actual usable information. I understood that concept very early on my own, and I recognized that I would need breaks and coping strategies to survive the inevitable stress and anxiety so Read More
