ramps for seniors with dementia

There comes a time when adapting the home to the condition of your dementia patient becomes crucial. The minute we introduced a walker into our house, I had to take up most of the rugs, particularly in the bedroom and halls. I also noticed that my mother was more and more apprehensive of making the one step down to the garage or to the patio, and I always was there "just in case". I hadn't really thought about a ramp because my mother, as most dementia patients, hates change and didn't want to change the appearance of her home, particularly as, in her mind, she had not changed so there was no need to. Nevertheless, her legs were weakening from the lack of activity and she had neither the strength nor the balance to make the step easily.

Of course when she later temporarily lost the use of her legs and had to spend 3 weeks in rehab, we had a serious problem. I constructed a temporary ramp out of old second-hand murder mysteries (thank goodness we are avid readers!) with roofing tiles laid over them. I wish I had taken a picture! It was pretty solid, but definitely temporary. Even the handyman had to admire it. Thank goodness he was able to put together an excellent one in an afternoon. Ours is wood which is no problem since it is inside the garage, and it is made specifically to our requirements: it is quite wide so that my mother doesn't fall off while trying to get around the dogs and it is a VERY gentle slope so that she doesn't balk at using it on her own. She feels much more independent with it: she can go sit outside to watch the dogs in the yard (she is afraid they will somehow get out the gate). Fortunately my mother does not have the wandering problems associated with Alzheimer's.

While I had not been able to find an appropriate ramp in the stores near us, I subsequently found that they are readily available on the Web. My favorite Allegro Medical Supply has quite a nice choice of ramps according to your personal needs and at good prices.

We were able to have one made reasonably ($100) by a handyman whom we had already had dealt with. If you don't know a handyman though, I can suggest that you contact your local Alzheimer's Association. They will most certainly be able to refer you to a "senior assistance and referral network" which will guarantee that the people you are put in contact with are "Elder Friendly" businesses. This is particularly reassuring when you come from out of state and don't know how or where to start.

Baby monitors for seniors

When I first moved in with my mother, she was having such trouble walking that she moved from her room to the guestroom, and I moved into the den right next door to her. That way she could always call out for assistance during the night and I could get to her fast enough to avoid any accidents, of any sort. It was reassuring for me to know she could call me. Finally though, she got strong enough, both physically and mentally, to want to return to her own room. It was a great step towards more independence but it did mean that I could no longer be sure to hear her and help her. As she was walking so much better though, I wasn't too concerned.

Several months later, I was wakened very early by her shouts. I found her on the floor, incapable of using her legs properly. She had had to drag herself to the livingroom to call me. She, of course, had no recollection of how nor even where she had fallen. She spent three weeks in the hospital and rehabilitation center where I stayed with her to calm her fears and bewilderment. Sleeping next to her gave me such reassurance that I realized that I would have to find a solution for home. I certainly didn't want to move into her room with her. I went back to the Web to find a solution for seniors.

There are several intercom or walkie-talkie type systems available. It would require, however, that my mother remember to use it which she wouldn't because she wouldn't remember that it was there or what it was. I settled on a baby security monitor. It was an excellent, inexpensive solution to my problem. I didn't even have to take the video option since snoring old ladies are hardly as cute as little baby. I have it on all day and the range is so good that I can even hear her go into the kitchen to make herself a coffee (of course she DOES shuffle her feet quite a bit). As I spend quite a bit of time in my room at the computer, the monitor allows me to know when she is sleeping or awake and pottering around in her room. That, in turn, allows me to know when would be a good time to propose an activity liking folding the laundry, going to get the mail or go out for groceries.

I know that a real "for seniors" system with two-way communication can be invaluable in the care of an invalid, just for the peace of mind and reassurance that it can give both parties, as well as sparing the caregiver all sorts of trips back and forth to the invalid's room. In the case of dementia though, I am sure that it could only bring confusion, at least initially to the demented, then perhaps aggravation to the caregiver when the patient, finally or maybe, figures out how it works and demands a response at any or all moments.

I have told my mother often that she need only call me and I will come; but since I don't want to emphasize the presence of the monitor, and have hidden it behind her curtains, when she wants me, she comes all the way to my room. That's great! This is a big house and since she refuses to go to physical therapy, this is a good way for her to get some exercise!

The 36-Hour Day, a great guide to dementia

A year ago when I moved in with my mother, along with her serious problems of memory loss, I noticed that my mother was acting in strange, manic ways. During the day, she would communicate by monosyllables and appear unaware of anything around us, then at night, she would spend hours looking for the keys to the cars, checking her checkbooks, looking for her dogs (and cats!?! - she was in her 20's and living at home the last time she had a cat). A friend, whose mother had had to care for her husband during his years with Alzheimer's, gave me a wonderful book, The 36-Hour Day, a must in any senior supplies list.

It is not very "cheerful" reading, but I think that anyone in my situation is more interested in the truth and some solid advice and explanations than just positive, feel-good thinking. Rather than a personal history of one family's dealings with dementia, The 36-Hour Day is a clinical study of all the different aspects of this disease. The emphasis is on allowing the care-givers and family to understand what the situation is at any given moment and to prepare them for what is waiting for them down the road a bit. It is extremely complete and although I had thought that my mother was suffering only from memory loss, I quickly realized that she was not in the "incipient" stage of dementia. She has made progress from where she was, maybe even thanks to her stroke, but the smallest degree of stress causes her phobias to re-surface.

Thanks to the clarity of The 36-Hour Day, I know that these past few months of improvement are truly miraculous and to be enjoyed to the fullest, without fooling myself into believing that she is cured. We are starting to be able dredge things up from her long-term memory, but there has been no improvement in her short-term memory which is what you need for day-to-day life. I have gotten used to her being able to do crossword puzzles and even cryptograms, but be terrified of letting the dogs out in the yard for fear that they will somehow "disappear"(crocodiles, thieves, malicious neighbours, etc.).

I obviously highly recommend The 36-Hour Day, to be read in parts as they apply to your present situation and needs, or as a whole book which is what I did since I knew nothing about the situation I had gotten myself into and wanted to know how things would probably develop. It is also a well-recognized book in that it is often given as a door-prize at conferences dealing with seniors and dementia. Lucky winners!