Caregivers: Take Care of Yourselves!

Alzheimer's Caregivers Need Care, Too-

4/27/2011 5:00:00 PM

WEDNESDAY, April 27 (HealthDay News) -- The growing number of people with Alzheimer's disease in the United States means that more people are becoming caregivers, a responsibility that health experts warn can pose risks to body and mind.
But caregivers can take various steps to protect their health, says Rebecca Axline, a clinical social worker at the Nantz National Alzheimer Center in Houston.
To keep stress in check, for instance, she emphasizes the need to find time and ways to reenergize, to keep meaningful things in your life and to remain social and participate in your favorite activities.
Axline also offered communication techniques that can help reduce caregivers' stress and frustration:

• Always identify yourself and call the person you're caring for by name.
• Talk slowly and clearly. Use short sentences and break down instructions into steps.
• Ask one question at a time and wait patiently for a response. Repeat information and questions. Clarify and give visual clues, such as pointing to an object or location. Avoid vague words.
• Use positive rather than negative instructions, such as "walk carefully" instead of "don't trip."
• Don't get into power struggles with the person, such as arguing about something that's possibly been forgotten.

Getting adequate rest -- at least seven to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep a night -- and eating well, Axline said, also are key to keeping a caregiver's body and mind healthy. If there's no time to cook, caregivers should ask for help from family, friends or neighbors.
Building a support team is important, she said. The doctor and treatment team, including the social worker, for the person receiving care, as well as the local Alzheimer's Association can help create a care program that works for the recipient and caregiver alike.
More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, a number that experts predict will rise to 16 million by 2050. Women are more likely than men to develop Alzheimer's and are also more likely to become caregivers.

More information
The U.S. National Institute on Aging offers an Alzheimer's caregiver guide.
Aging: MiscAlzheimer's

SOURCE: Methodist Hospital, Houston, news release, April 22, 2011

Copyright © 2011 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Suggested Reading: Still Alice

Still Alice

By Lisa Genova
PhD in neuroscience from Harvard University

Alice Howland, happily married with three grown children and a house on the Cape, is a celebrated Harvard professor at the height of her career when she notices a forgetfulness creeping into her life. As confusion starts to cloud her thinking and her memory begins to fail her, she receives a devastating diagnosis: early onset Alzheimer's disease.

Fiercely independent, Alice struggles to maintain her lifestyle and live in the moment, even as her sense of self is being stripped away. In turns heartbreaking, and inspiring. As her cognitive capabilities diminish, we also get to see her grow.  As her symptoms worsen, Alice loses her cerebral life at Harvard, where she'd placed her worth and identity, where she'd been valued and respected.  Without it, she embarks on a desperate search for answers to questions like 'Who am I now?' and 'How do I matter?'
 

http://www.stillalice.com/

My aunt Barbara shipped me a copy of Still Alice as she felt it would give me another take on Alzheimer's and its effects.  I have been happily working at JADP for almost a year and have grown very fond of our participants, their families and caregivers.  Part of my journey to find this position was to care for my grandmother in Florida the summer of 2009. 

This was a jarring, very eye opening experience to me as my grandmother did not recognize me.  I was a complete stranger in charge of her care.  I had not been warned as to how far advanced her disease was.  It was a very emotional stay, but it set me in a new direction when I returned to Colorado.  I am so blessed to have found JADP, and feel like I am part of such impactful work.  In reading this book, Still Alice, I was immediately drawn in.  It is a third person narrative, yet speaks through Alice's perspective. 

Alice is a strong, independent and intelligent woman fighting a degenerative disease.  To see and hear how Alzheimer's affects the brain processes and how Alzheimer's progresses, it was heartbreaking, but incredibly insightful.  You could see the drops in thought, the glitches, but also understand how they happen. 

I could suddenly understand some of the things that my grandmother would say or do.  It heightened my already sensitive level of compassion.  I found that I could not put the book down.  I finished reading it, and though it was the wee hours of the morning, I proceeded to re-read my detailed journal entries from my stay with my grandmother.  And I cried, reliving my moments of frustration and love through my experience, and I cried for Alice, a woman I feel I know very well. 

I strongly recommend this book to all adults, especially to those who have ever known someone with Alzheimer's.

-Allison; JADP Administrative Assistant

Enjoying the Moment: the essence of Daytripping

Group excursions into the comunity are helpful for those suffering from Alzheimer's disease.
YourHub.com Article, printed April 7, 2011

JOHNSON ADULT DAY PROGRAM:

ENJOYING THE MOMENT – THE ESSENCE OF DAYTRIPS

DENVER – March 2011 – Studies show that people with dementia and Alzheimer’s benefit greatly from adult day programming like that of the Johnson Adult Day Program (JADP) to keep them active and participating in new life experiences. Physical exercise, cognitive stimulation and social engagement are important facets of a healthy lifestyle for everyone, including people with memory loss. For someone like Mary Lycas, who has always been a very active, adventuresome and social person, her desire and need to stay active and involved has not changed despite her diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.

Mary is thankful to have the support of her family, including her daughter-in-law Kelli, who spends a lot of time helping take care of Mary. Through the journey of Mary’s illness, it became clear that Mary needed care and stimulation beyond what her family could provide for her. Because they had no experience with Alzheimer’s, the Lycas family began working with a care navigator who recommended JADP. JADP offers one of the most extensive Daytripping Programs for adults with limitations anywhere in the greater Denver area. Mary and the whole Lycas family have been welcomed into the caring arms of the JADP team and now Mary can’t imagine a week without JADP and its life enriching activities.

“At JADP our mission is to improve and enhance the quality of our participant’s lives. For so many people, like Mary, our Daytripping Program can help keep them active and engaged in their communities for a longer period of time,” explained Caroline Tysseland, director of JADP. “Unfortunately, memory loss is a part of many people’s lives, but it doesn’t have to be the end of life. We are here to help make that journey better and different for participants and their families.”

A nurse by training, Mary’s journey began in England – where she was born, raised and educated. At the age of 24 she decided set sail for America. From the moment you meet Mary, it is clear that nursing and caregiving are in her blood. “As a young person in my twenties I just knew what I wanted to do, it was in me,” said Mary. Perhaps that is one of the reasons JADP is such an important part of her life now. JADP is a place where everyone cares about and supports each other. Mary sees it as her “job” to share her compassion and care for her fellow JADP participants. But, Kelli explained, Mary sees the daytrips as her special treat. “One trip and we were hooked,” said Kelli.

JADP began its Daytripping Program in 1999 and it has grown to become an integral component of the quality of care JADP provides to each of its participants. JADP’s daytrips are tailored to meet the varying needs and abilities of the many participants who attend. Nearly 200 trips depart from the facility annually, providing unique opportunities for adults to have lunch out at a restaurant and experience a wide variety of activities. Daytrip participants enjoy museums, Active Minds lectures, gardens and many other historic, cultural and scientific sites of interest throughout Colorado from Fort Collins to Colorado Springs.

Like many Coloradans, Mary likes to enjoy the outdoors. Through the Daytripping Program, she has enjoyed trips to Breckenridge to look at the snow sculptures, gone to the top of Mt. Evans and hiked around the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. One of the most memorable annual daytrips for Mary and the other JADP daytrippers is driving up into the mountains during the fall to see the leaves changing color. “These daytrips allow people with short term memory problems to live in and enjoy the moment.  Mary is so much happier because of it and we are so thankful for that,” said Kelli.

According to JADP’s Daytrip manager, Maureen Wells, “Daytrippers develop new friendships and find others with whom they can share their current life journey.” Wells is uniquely qualified to organize, direct and lead the Daytripping Program at JADP. She has a master’s degree in psychiatric nursing and community mental health. Wells has worked with JADP since 1999 to integrate the Daytripping Program into the organization’s quality of care continuum.

Mary, who is still able to live in her own home independently, started going on one daytrip a week. Now, a year and a half later, she attends JADP five days a week and goes on up to three daytrips each week. She looks forward to each and every one with enthusiasm and excitement. “I love going. I like the variety and I love meeting new people,” said Mary.

For many family members, daytrips also provide much needed respite from the job of being a full time caregiver. “This place is different. You can just feel it and you just know it in your heart. The compassion and support are overflowing,” said Kelli. “It is a huge weight off our shoulders knowing that Mary is well cared for when at JADP. It has been a godsend.”

To learn more about JADP and the Daytripping Program, please call 303.789.1519 or visit www.jadp.org.

Farewell from our Sweet Caroline...

Dear Families and Friends,

It is with some sadness that I am writing to let know I  have resigned as Executive Director of  the Johnson Adult Day Programs as of March 31,2011. 

I have had a wonderful experience over last twelve years being a part of your lives as you care for your loved one.  It has been a labor of love, with so many positive memories that will stay with me forever.

The creative energy of adult day programming has been a wonderful setting for me personally. But as we all look to the future a different kind of leadership will be needed to take the center to the next level of service and as a community resource. I also at the age of sixty need to vision  how I might engage the new opportunities  ahead.

In the interim period Julie Lewis and Tract Fehr (RN) will handle the day to day running of the center. They are both very dedicated professionals who you know well. They understand the day to day workings of the center intimately, so the care and attention to detail you have come to know at JADP will not miss a beat.

Thank you again for allowing me to be a part of your life and care giving.  I wish you and your loved ones every blessing.


Warmly,

Caroline Tysseland RN