Volume 1; Issue 6
November 16, 2009

Welcome to this issue of The Dementia Caregiving Encourager. We’re glad you’re here!

I (Paula) have been putting my caregiving skills to good use the past few weeks—and learning a whole lot more than I knew before!

First my oldest son (21) fell and broke his right thumb. The injury required surgery and we had to wrangle with the state medical insurance system to pay for it. For the first few days following his injury and again following his surgery he experienced quite a bit of pain and was on some pretty powerful medication.

Then, my daughter (14) had her foot stepped on by a horse. Miraculously she has no broken bones, but the injury got infected and she ended up hospitalized for five days and having surgery to clean out the infection. Now I get to change her dressing and clean her wound each day.

My experience in caring for my Mom’s needs for so long definitely prepared me for taking care of two hurting children at once. Part of caring for a dementia patient involves being prepared for the unexpected, being flexible, and being willing to meet whatever need arises.

It is a privilege to share my story with you so that you can benefit from my experience. If you ever have a question I can answer for you please write to me. I’m here to help.

If you have any comments or suggestions for The Dementia Caregiving Encourager please contact us. We love to hear from our readers.

Blessings!
Paula Farris & Lanette Stultz
http://www.DementiaCaregiving101.com

Dementia Caregiving Glossary Project

We anticipate this glossary will be quite large by the time it is complete (if it ever really is complete!) This is where you come in. What dementia caregiving words and terms would you like to have defined? Would you take a moment to contribute your suggestions? We want to make DementiaCaregiving101.com into a site that will help you and provide what you need. Thank you for helping us meet this goal.

Keeping The Dementia Patient Toasty Warm and Safe in Cold Weather

But if you live in a colder climate keeping your loved one warm can become a challenge. These tips will help:

Dress in layers. An undershirt, a t-shirt, a flannel shirt, a jacket, and a coat are a lot to keep up with, but if you will be outside for a long period of time your loved one may go through periods where they are very cold and then a little warm.

Dressing in layers will allow them to shed the unnecessary clothing or to put it back on if they get cold again. Be sure to plan ahead for a way to keep up with unworn clothing. Misplacing a favorite sweater can cause some unneeded anxiety.

Unless the weather is especially bad, it usually starts to warm up a bit in the afternoon. Try to plan your outdoor excursions later in the day to take advantage of the warmer temperatures.

Colder weather usually means snow. If you need your sidewalks cleared or your car dug out consider hiring someone to do these labor intensive, time-consuming chores. It is not a good idea for elderly people to be outdoors in extremely cold weather for extended periods of time, plus keeping an eye on a dementia patient may make finishing these tasks more difficult.

Plan for those days when you will be stuck indoors. Make sure you have all necessary supplies to last for several days (or even weeks!) Don’t forget to plan fun activities to keep your loved one entertained and occupied. Plenty of distractions can keep tempers from flaring.

Don’t forget to secure your fireplace. Put the fireplace tools in an out of the way place. Keep a screen in front of the flame. And never leave a dementia patient alone around a lit fireplace.

Activity Idea

Thanks for Joining Us!

We look forward to visiting with you again soon.