Families With Alzheimers

HOME HEALTH CARE

IN OUR WEB SITE

There are times during the course of this disease that the patient requires more assistance with the tasks of daily living than one person can provide.    When incontinence becomes an issue and when mobility decreases it is important to seek help with bathing in order to prevent serious injury to the patient and/or the caregiver.     Talk to your medical professional about how to receive home health care services and how to manage care with them.

HOME Ask Aunt Annie has advice on living with Alzheimer's and being a caregiver The Ask Annie Archive has answers and practical caregiving tips. The Buddy Plan pairs caregivers for one-on-one friendships with people who have been there. Read about nursing homes and how to make a safe transition for your loved one. Read about coming home from a nursing home and how to plan to bring your loved one home. Check out some of the nutrients, vitamins and supplements that we have tried and what to ask your medical team. Read about where to find resources and how to decide what you need. Read about Alzheimer's Disease and its stages in normal people-talk. Read about the warning signs for Alzheimer's Disease. How your family can live with Alzheimer's Disease. How our family has lived with Alzheimer's Disease. How home health care professionals can help your family live with Alzheimer's Disease at home.

ASK ANNIE Advice for Caregivers & Families

Pride Versus Practicality

I had a terrible time admitting that my grandfather really had Alzheimer's Disease and it only got worse when he became incontinent.  I had no idea what to do with adult diapers and was terrified of the personal hygeine issues that the diapers created.  I was embarrassed for him and our pride kept us from taking advantage of home health care services for a long time.     Once I was able to ask for that kind of help I was a basket case on the days that they were due to come and tried to clean the house and bathe him before they got there.  On one of our first visits Max and I fell getting him out of the tub and when the aide arrived Max interjected humor into the situation by yelling that I was raping him.  I finally learned that there was nothing that they hadn't seen and that their job was to bathe him and they expected to do just that.     Nevertheless it is emotionally difficult to have strangers coming into your house on a schedule that isn't necessarily dictated by you.  It is important to work with the aides and the office staff to build a healthy relationship because they can all be invaluable resources for a caregiver who often has few people to turn to for practical caregiving advice.  Make the most of their experience, their sensitivity and professionalism and your life will be easier and more pleasant.

How To Get It

Talk to your team, whether it is your family or your medical and financial advisors about what resources can provide home health care.  Max is a veteran and while the paperwork and wait were tremendous we were able to get these services through the VA.  Medicare can provide some services based on need but often those are restrictive and don't last very long.     Work with your team and plan what services are most valuable to you and how to get them.  It is worth it to pay for someone to come and bathe your loved one if that is physically difficult for you and is causing a rift in the relationship.  When it is hard for the caregiver the patient will sense that and can become combative and angry.     One of the things that we have learned is that a caregiver must learn to pick their battles in order to conserve their emotional energy and physical well being.