Posts Tagged ‘long term care tacoma wa’

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 »

Exercise and physical activity for seniors is very important to their overall health.  Here is a great article about the most popular activities for seniors.  If you need help for an aging loved one in the Tacoma WA area, visit www.heartwarmingcare.com.

Feeling Sporty?  Popular Sports and Activities Among Seniors

By Senior Daily Living

If you feel like you need to get out more, you’re not alone.  Senior citizens and non-seniors alike are in need of consistent physical exercise.  Sporty activities are an enjoyable way to get your body moving, but not all forms are best for senior citizens.  Seek out those sports that you enjoy and that exert your body to a comfortable degree.  Here are some of the top ranked sports for the active senior:

Continue reading HERE.

Taking Care of Parents Also Means Taking Care of Finances

Here is a great article from the New York Times.  If you are in need of assistance for an aging senior in Tacoma WA, visit us at www.heartwarmingcare.com.

About 30 percent of adult children in the United States contribute financially to their parents’ care, according to the Pew Research Center. On average these children pay $2,400 a year on everything from uncovered medical expenses to making sure the refrigerator is stocked each week. The money often goes to parents who diligently saved all their lives, but in the face of longer life spans and chronic illness, the savings just isn’t enough.

Continue reading HERE.

Here is an article from USA Today regarding the future of Alzheimer’s  Disease.  If you have questions, or need help for a senior in your life, visit us at www.heartwarmingcare.com.

Global Alzheimer’s cases expected to rise sharply

“The number of people with Alzheimer’s disease isn’t creeping up, it’s briskly rising, according to a new report.”

Continue reading HERE.

Dementia-More Than Just Memory Loss

Here is a great article that I found by Senior Daily Living.  Visit us at www.heartwarmingcare.com if you need help for an aging senior in the area.

“As we age, we naturally have difficulty remembering things or finding the right words to say. This is normal. However, Dementia is not normal. The condition causes mental changes that make it difficult to function and carry out our normal lives, not just remember names and dates.”

Continue reading HERE.

Here is a great article from the New York Times.  Please visit us at www.heartwarmingcare.com if you need help for an aging loved one in the area.

Helping Elderly Leave Nursing Homes for a Home

Walter Brown never wanted to live in a nursing home, but when he had a stroke two years ago, he saw little choice. Mr. Brown, 72, could not walk, use his left arm or transfer himself into his wheelchair.

Continue reading this wonderful story HERE.

This is an extremely interesting article that I thought you might enjoy!  Visit me at www.heartwarmingcare.com if you need help for an aging loved one in the Tacoma, WA area.

Study Suggests Hairstylists Can Help Identify Senior Citizens in Need of Health Services

‘Hair stylists are in a great position to notice when their older clients are starting to suffer from depression, dementia, or self-neglect’

By Jeff Grabmeier

Hairstylists may have a unique opportunity to help steer their elderly clients to needed health services, according to a small, exploratory study.

Continue reading HERE.

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 »