Alzheimer’s Patient: Holidays, Howling Hysteria, Past Hurts, and how Being in the Present Helps
It was Thanksgiving at 4:50 pm. I arrived for my shift of 14 hours and called on my cell phone to let my employer know I had arrived. However, instead of hearing the familiar, “Hello,” on the other end of the line, I heard the garage door softly rumble open, and then the hysterical howling…
Alzheimer’s Patient: Baseline Confusion Versus Baseline Content, Satisfaction, and Joy
This September 2020 marks my fourth anniversary of caring for one of my Alzheimer’s clients. She turns 94 in November. In the four years that I have been with her, I have only experienced three baseline confusion episodes, and each one lasted about six hours. We (all caregivers) log everything. We read each other’s log entries…
Nurturing the Alzheimer’s Client
On Thursday, October 8th, 2020, I arrived for my caregiving shift for my Alzheimer’s client, an elder of 93 years, at 7:00 pm. Her daughter, my employer, was in distress, explaining that her mother had refused to take her medication for a 24 hour period. She was also concerned because her mother’s eye was swollen…
The Caregiver’s Journey 2
The Behavior Log is the most critical log for the documentation of what happens with my client during each person’s shift. The more I read the logbook, the more I am convinced that much of my client’s behavior is based upon the caregiver surrounding him. The further my client moves in the later stages of…
The Caregiver’s Journey 1
The Nightly Care Checklist is the form I need to fill out during my 12-hour shift from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am. I must be sure to fill out my name, the date, and the time in the top left-hand corner. During the night, I must perform the following duties: 1. If the PM medication…
A Caregiver’s Journey
The household located in New Mexico is the residence of the family for which I work. In the fall of 2016, I was hired as a caregiver for the matriarch of the family, an elder with Alzheimer’s, vascular dementia. My main responsibilities involve caring for the elder within various levels that are specifically designed and…
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April Cares 