~March 20, 2002~

Moving day! Dad moved in with us today. Tom and the boys went and picked him up this morning. He seemed glad to be here, but I know that he still thinks he’s fine living by himself. We’re not going to sell his house or anything just yet because that would upset him. I told him we could go down and visit the old house sometime, and anyway we still have to get all of his stuff out of it. The boys like to have their grandpa here because he tells them all his old war stories. He can still remember most of what happened during the war, but sometimes he gets names, places, and events mixed up. I guess he can remember that stuff because that was such a major time in his life. I can imagine that wars are pretty hard to forget when you were a soldier. I was unpacking dad’s stuff today while he was taking a nap and I found a POEM that he wrote. He must have written it over the course of this past year, from the time his memory started going bad up until now when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Actually they call it “dementia of an Alzheimer’s type” because they can’t definitely diagnose it as Alzheimer’s Disease until the person passes away and they do an autopsy. The doctor told dad his diagnosis, but I wonder what would have happened if he hadn't. I read an article the other day entitled "Family members' attitudes toward telling the patient with Alzheimer's disease their diagnosis." And I found something very interesting in it. They surveyed 100 family members of Alzheimer's patients and asked them if the Alzheimer's patient should be told their diagnosis, if they themselves would want to be told, and if they would participate in a predictive test if one was developed. 83/100 of the family members said that they wouldn't tell their family member their diagnosis, but 71/100 would want to be told their own diagnosis if they developed Alzheimer's (Maguire & Kirby, 1996). I found that really strange, the thought of not telling someone their diagnosis. I mean yes, it would probably upset them at first, but don't they have a right to know what's going on with their own mind and body? It hurt me to see what dad had been through prior to his diagnosis. He would still be going through that confusing, unknowing period if his diagnosis had been kept from him! I don’t really know much about Alzheimer’s Disease, just that it affects a person’s memory and it never gets better, only worse. I don’t know what I’m going to do when I have to watch dad get worse over the next few years. I saw an announcement on the bulletin board at the hospital today. There is a workshop on Alzheimer's Disease on April 3rd. I think I'll go and find out more, for me and for dad.

~April 3, 2002~

I went to the workshop at the hospital today. It was very well done, informative, and helpful. The woman giving it was a speech language pathologist by the name of Meredith Jones. After each person attending the workshop introduced himself/herself and told why he/she was interested in this topic, Meredith showed a POWER POINT PRESENTATION about Alzheimer’s disease. When I saw that she had a power point, I kind of cringed a little. I’ve been to workshops and seminars before where the power point presentations go on forever, half the slides don’t work right, and I don’t remember anything that was covered. I found her presentation to be very helpful because it was brief and very easy to follow. She outlined some things that happen during each stage of the disease, and also handed out worksheets that were the same as her presentation slides so we could take notes and have the information to take home with us. At the end of her power point, she talked about communication strategies that we could use with our loved ones and about her role as a speech therapist in working with Alzheimer’s patients. I never thought of taking dad to see a speech therapist, but I really should look into that. She spoke about teaching people with Alzheimer’s compensatory strategies to help them be as functional as possible at the stage they’re at in the disease. Something she suggested for Alzheimer’s patients in the beginning stages is a memory book. She said to use pictures of things that are important to the person (ex: pictures and names of family members, important numbers, etc). Paste these pictures in a book that the person can use to help them remember important information. I think dad and I could have a lot of fun making this book together!

~April 17, 2002~

The speaker that I went to a couple weeks ago was telling us that she had a WEBLIOGRAPHY , I wasn’t sure what that was but I decided to check it out. It’s like a web page and there was all sorts of information on it about her and her practice. She had some fun stuff, things that she did for fun on the computer, and then she included stuff about her profession, research, and Alzheimer’s. I navigated around on it for a while just to see what she was about and it was really fun. She had a link to the Alzheimer’s Association so I looked at their page and signed up for the newsletter. I really want to do everything I can to learn about my father’s illness and help him be as independent and functional as possible until it’s just not an option. At this point, putting him in a nursing home is the farthest thing from my mind, but as these disease progresses I’m afraid I may have to deal with the possibility. I just try to take things one day at a time with dad and do the best with what we’ve got.

~April 19, 2002~

I found out today that Tom is being transferred to a town called Littleton. I’m so used to living here in Chicago, and I really like it here, but duty calls. This is going to be really hard on dad. He has really settled in and is doing rather well. I haven’t found a speech therapist yet, but I guess that will have to wait just a little longer until we move to our new home. I did find this wonderful elderly care center called Heart and Hands. I can drop dad off there for a couple hours whenever I need to do some errands or get some tasks accomplished that I can’t normally do with him in tow. This place is staffed with professionals who know how to work with dementia patients and volunteers who are kind and caring. Dad really likes it there, and he has met so many people who are going through the same thing that he is. I hate to take him away from that, but what can I do? Maybe there will be a center like this in Littleton, and if there isn’t, maybe I could start one. I haven’t told dad yet about moving, but I know that I have to do it at just the right time and in just the right way as not to upset him. This is going to definitely be an experience.

~May 23, 2002~

We’ve moved to Littleton and everything went smoothly. Dad was a little upset about leaving because we did have to sell his old house, and get rid of some of his stuff he isn’t going to use. Now that we’ve moved I’ve contacted my cousin who lives in Littleton. I had lost track of her until my brother reminded me that she had also moved to this small town. She has a column in the local newspaper about health issues and she asked me if I wanted to do a GUEST EDITORIAL about Alzheimer’s Disease! This is a great opportunity. I’ve been learning so much about this disease since dad was diagnosed, but I’m not going to use this as a chance to show how much I know. Sadly enough, there are no elderly centers like the one in Chicago so I thought I could write my column about the need for places like this. With any luck, people might be interested in helping me get one started in Littleton! I’m really excited about this project and hopefully dad will have a brand new center soon, with brand new friends!

~June 1, 2002~

Dad went for his INTERVIEW with the speech therapist yesterday. Her name is Linda Ross and she is a delightful woman. She also did a few tasks with him to evaluate his level of understanding and communication. She commented to me afterward that he was very cooperative and seemed to only get upset or frustrated a couple times. She showed me a copy of the interview and pointed out places where he had trouble that are typical problem areas for Alzheimer's patients. I am so glad she is including me in all this to help me better understand what my dad is having trouble with. I really hope therapy is something that helps him, and that he won't hate going to. He seemed to be in a good mood today after being with Linda, I think she will be really great with him, and hopefully he'll be good for her!! While I was sitting in the waiting room at the speech clinic I picked up a magazine called Aging and flipped through it. I found an article about making your home a comfortable place for someone with Alzheimer's. A woman by the name of Joanne Koenig-Coste had some really good tips for every room of the house! Here are the one's that stuck out to me...

For doors: Place locks up high or down low on outside doors and add simple doorknob alarms.

When choosing colors: Don't overstimulate the person by bringing together vividly patterned and striped rugs, drapes, and upholstery.

In pathways: Clear away throw rugs and clutter from the paths where a restless, wandering person may walk.

And in the kitchen: Pictures or one-word captions on cupboard doors help to cue patients on where to find or put away glasses, cups, and dishes.

Some other suggestions were to put pictures on rooms where certain things are (i.e. picture of a toilet on the bathroom door), limit the amount of clothing in their closet so they will have an easier time choosing what to wear, and keep familiar objects and pictures around to cue and give comfort to Alzheimer's patients (Kent, 1992). These are all great ideas that I'm going to try in my home!

~June 24, 2002~

Dad has been in speech therapy with Linda for a few weeks now. He seems to like it as much as you could expect a 67-year-old man to like naming pictures and listening to stories. Linda gave me a copy of a few of her LESSON PLANS to show me what dad has been doing in therapy, and how he's progressing. She does so many different things with him that don't seem like "speech" activities. The other day, she had him make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! I couldn't imagine what that had to do with anything until I read her lesson plans. It was an activity to see how well he did with sequencing. It's amazing how many things could be affected by this disease, and what tasks she thinks of to test these areas!