Assisted Living Directory Blog

Every so often I happen upon something relevant to our site that makes me pause to process it’s significance.

I know that Alzheimer’s is a dreadful disease – stripping a person down to almost nothing but an empty shell.   However, although we might think there is nothing left, and that the well of emotion and connectedness is dry – there can be a moment shared that has deep meaning between the victim and a loved one.

Still Giving Kisses – a book described on occupational therapist, Barbara Smith’s website that I found this week talks about the author’s mother – and one of the few remaining motor acts that she was able to perform – giving kisses – reflecting the title of the book.

I haven’t read the book yet – I hope to – but the title really struck me, and got me thinking -

Caring for someone with Alzheimer’s can drown a caregiver with legal demands, bureaucratic issues, and personal exhaustion.

However, if the caregiver (usually a son and/or daughter) can try to always be on the lookout for “kisses” – in whatever manifestation  – the human side of the Alzheimer’s gauntlet might not be forgotten.

This is a great question that we received this week through our site – we’d like to invite anyone who might have input to comment. Thank you! – David (editor)

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Hello,

Is there an assisted living environment in the area, that caters to early stages Alzheimer’s patients who wander but are not yet appropriate for memory care?

My Mother has Alzheimer’s. She is in the early stages and is currently living in an assisted living facility, in Portland, Oregon. She enjoys her own apartment and the many activities that this environment offers. Lately, she has begun to wander from the facility. This, of course, poses a huge liability to my Mother and the facility. Some of the staff have recommended that we move her to the memory care unit. While visiting memory care, we observed people who were much more advanced in the disease. Many were catatonic, lifeless and immobile. Aside from some memory loss, my mother is still very lucid, savvy and mobile. She was very disturbed by what she saw. I feel that if put in this environment, she would decline emotionally, very quickly.

We have researched adult foster care but feel that my mother really benefits from her private apartment, coupled with many people and activities.

Is there an assisted living environment that monitors the doors closely, not allowing Alzheimer’s patients to leave without supervision or redirects them back into the facility? Or, is there a facility that has a secure outdoor setting, allowing people to wander outside without risk?

Please send any resources that you think might be viable.

Much Appreciation,
Troy

I came across one of the most unique videos I have seen in a long time…and it is, for lack of a better word..creepy.   This excellent film called “I forgot my name” by a fellow named Matthew Cox uses animation to depict what is might be like for someone with Alzheimer’s to get lost in their own home…and the loss of self that encapsulates this horrible disease.  Matthew’s video is both hard to watch, and hard to not watch, if you know what I mean.  

Over the holidays, my mother-in-law brought a few magazines with her that she left at the house.  One of which was an older issue of U.S. News & World Report from December of 2006.   On the cover there is a photo of a relatively young woman who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.   The title of the article is “The New Face of Alzheimer’s,” and it talks about whey more younger people are being diagnosed with this devastating disease.

Before reading it, I expected to hear about people in their lower 50′s being told they have Alzheimer’s.   I was shocked to learn that even some people in their 30′s are being given the grim news.  The article says “It afflicts people in their 50′s, their 40′s, and even in their 30′s.”  More and more young people are showing up at doctor’s offices and support group meetings than ever before.

The article spotlights several people at various (mostly younger) ages, and describes their daily lives, and how they are coping.  The article also talks about hopeful new medications and therapies that will attempt to tackle this disease head-on, including Secretase modulators, immunotherapy, and others that are currently being tested for safety and effectiveness.