Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

Caring for the caregiver is very important.  Visit us at www.heartwarmingcare.com if you need help for an aging loved one in the Tacoma area.

Signs of Caregiver Stress – Anxiety May Be the Worst

By Harriet Hodgeson

Taking care of my mother for nine years taught me about caregiver stress. My mother had progressive dementia and, as the years passed, she turned into a stranger. I didn’t know her any more. Though my husband often helped with caregiving tasks, most of the responsibilities were mine. Caregiving became a lonely experience.

“Many caregivers do most or all of the caregiving for a loved one alone,” according to the Elder Independence of Maine Website. The organization lists the warning signs of stress in its article, “The Stresses of Caregiving.” The signs of stress include denial, anger, social withdrawal, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, sleeplessness, irritability, lack of concentration, and personal health problems.

The Alzheimer’s Association lists the same signs in a Website article, “Caregiver Stress.” According to the article, “Too much stress can be damaging to both a caregiver and the person with Alzheimer’s.” This comment also applies to those who are caring for someone with sudden or chronic illness. I had all of the signs of caregiving, but anxiety was the worst. My anxiety could be divided into four parts.

1. Financial anxiety. I moved my mother to Minnesota and found a senior housing apartment for her. After she moved in I discovered she had been defrauded of $50,000 and her remaining money was almost gone. But she continued to spend money at an alarming rate. In fact, she became an addictive spender. Needless to say, I worried about her spending constantly.

2. Behavior anxiety. My mother became an angry, unpredictable person. She had a fist fight with one of the senior housing residents and stole a teddy bear from another. She put a can of soda in the microwave and it caught fire and melted. She went for a walk, fell down and injured her shoulder so badly that surgeons had to install a new socket. “What will happen next?” became the question of the day.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is a great article for anyone who is affected, or newly affected by Alzheimer’s Disease, and is trying to understand it’s effects on our loved ones.  If you need help with an aging loved one in the Tacoma WA area, visit www.heartwarmingcare.com.

Stay Alert on Alzheimer’s Disease

By: Barbara Rockwell

The term dementia refers to a brain disorder that demonstrates itself in several ways. A person may easily become confused even in known settings, may ask questions repeatedly, or may neglect such basic things as their own hygiene or basic safety issues. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia linked with old age.

The disease is named after German Doctor Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed variations in the brain tissue of a patient of his that died with unusual mental illnesses and dementia. His study guided him to discover anomalous clumps and tangles of fiber in the brains of those patients who were suffering from this same disease.

Thus, whilst it was common for persons who were older and losing their mental faculties to be dismissed as “senile,” Dr. Alzheimer was able to pinpoint the actual breakdown in the brain that led to the loss of their mental faculties.

According to the National Institute on Aging varied test conclusions, there are actual brain changes in persons with Alzheimer’s disease. They can find out how nerve cells die in areas of the brain that affect memory and basic abilities. It may seem strange, but everything that we do on a daily basis is because of memory.

Read the rest of this entry »

Familiarize yourself with the medications your parent takes: what each one is for and how often he takes them. Make sure you notify each doctor your parent visits of all the medicine he takes, including over-the-counter products. Ask what side effects you might observe from each medication and whether it’s potentially dangerous if your parent takes them together. You also want to tell the doctor whether your parent drinks alcohol or caffeinated drinks and whether he smokes, as these substances can affect some medications’ efficacy and safety. To recognize which medications might cause the symptoms your parent experiences, check out drugscanmakeyousick.com .

I thought this might be of interest to you as well! Visit me at www.heartwarmingcare.com if you have any questions. or need help with an aging loved on in the Tacoma, WA area.

I found this article in the Wall Street Journal and decided to pass it on to all of you. If you are considering hiring home care services, it’s important to know what the family’s legal and financial responsibilities are when it comes to private caregivers. Ultimately, in may be a better option to hire a home care agency. See link to the Wall Street Journal article below, and as always if you have questions or need help, please visit our website www.heartwarmingcare.com.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123742280124379005.html

Here’s a great link to an article that is helpful to anyone considering starting elder care, home care, or geriatric care management services for an aging loved one.

Just click on the link below, and as always if you have questions or need help, please visit our website at www.heartwarmingcare.com.

My Mother’s Memory is Failing…..

http://donigreenberg.com/2009/02/28/dear-j-mother-memory-something/

1. Privately paying for long-term care means paying for care out of your own income, investments, savings and assets.

2. Long-term care insurance will pay for in-home care, assisted living, and nursing home care. This is the most appropriate and needed form of insurance protection available to us today. Long-term care insurance should be termed “lifestyle” insurance (it’s NOT nursing home insurance!). If your vision of your later years includes sitting at home in your own recliner, with your own remote control, watching your own TV….well, you should be planning for that future with long-term care insurance.

3. Reverse mortgages (Home Equity Conversion Mortgages) have become one of the most popular and accepted way of paying for many different expenses, including the cost of long-term care. Reverse mortgages are designed to keep seniors at home longer. A reverse mortgage can pay for in-home care, home repair, home modification, and any other need a senior may have.

4. Government assistance should be a last resort when considering how to pay for long-term care. This type of assistance refers to relying on the Medicaid system. Medicaid will pay for long-term care for seniors who cannot afford to pay for care themselves. Keep in mind that Medicaid is an under-funded and over-burdened system, therefore Medicaid resources are limited. This means that in many areas Medicaid beds in nursing homes are difficult to find. Families may end up driving long distances to visit their loved ones. Traditionally, Medicaid resources for in-home care are extremely limited, which means most seniors who apply for Medicaid end up in a nursing home type setting. The Deficit Reduction Act 2005 makes qualifying for Medicaid even more difficult for most families. Planning ahead is really the only viable option for families today.

5. VA Aid and Attendance Pension Benefit: The Veterans Administration has established a pension program whereby your purchase of personal care and attendant home services may be paid for through your acquired pension. If you are a Veteran or the surviving spouse of a Veteran who has served at least 90 days or more on active duty with one day beginning or ending during a period of war, and you are in need of assistance at HOME due to your disabilities, you may be eligible for VA’s non-service connected disability pension.

Brought to you by http://www.heartwarmingcare.com/.

Hospice care has been around for 30 years. It is a valuable service and is generally underused except for terminal cancer patients. Most families wait too long to have their doctor prescribe hospice from Medicare. Many doctors or family don’t often consider this care alternative for Alzheimer’s, degenerative old age or other debilitating illnesses where a person is going downhill fast. Hospice involves a team approach using the following providers.

• Family caregivers
• The patient’ s personal physician
• Hospice physician (or medical director)
• Nurses
• Home health aides
• Social workers
• Clergy or other counselors
• Trained volunteers; and
• Speech, physical, and occupational therapists, if needed.

The purpose of hospice is the following:

• Manages the patient’s pain and symptoms;
• Assists the patient with the emotional and psychosocial and spiritual aspects of dying;
• Provides needed medications, medical supplies, and equipment;
• Coaches the family on how to care for the patient;
• Delivers special services like speech and physical therapy when needed;
• Makes short-term inpatient care available when pain or symptoms become too difficult to manage at home, or the caregiver needs respite time; and
• Provides bereavement care and counseling to surviving family and friends.
  

A person can receive hospice from Medicare if he or she is

• Eligible for Medicare Part A (Hospital Insurance), and
• The doctor and the hospice medical director certify that the person is terminally ill and probably has less than six months to live, and
• The person or a family member signs a statement choosing hospice care instead of routine Medicare covered benefits for the terminal illness, and
• Care is received from a Medicare-approved hospice program.

Although hospice is an outstanding service, Medicare typically does not provide enough supportive care for many patients. For those who have long term care insurance, there may be additional money available to buy more time from in-home aides. If there is no insurance, family members often pay out of their own pockets to bring in more help.