First Home Care Session

I am having my first home care session for my husband who has Alzheimer's.  This will start in just 3 days on Monday!  I am very excited to tell you all about it.

Home Care:  Is help on the way?

I have put this off for a very long time.  If you read my assisted living website page about my husband's visit to the nursing home, you will recall how exhausted I had become and how I vowed to start home care.  I procrastinated but now I am finally doing it.

When he was in the nursing home for 2 1/2 weeks back in May, I had a chance to rest and rejuvenate.  That was 2 plus months ago.   I feel the tiredness slowly creeping back and I do not want to get that way again ever.

I did not realize at the time how exhausted I had become from caring for someone 24 hours a day who has Alzheimer's.  I warned you that if you are taking care of someone else, you are not taking care of yourself.  You need help.   My goal was to every 3 months have a break from home care, but now I am going to have an opportunity to see if the home care helps me instead of a longer break.

The Home Care Schedule:

I will be having 10 hours a week.  I opted to spread them out over 3 days.  I understand this can be changed if I find another schedule would be better.  But I will begin with this and see how it goes.

How did this come about?

I had been doing research.  I visited 2 or 3 nursing homes.  Also saw assisted living facilities.  Checked up on where to get Home Care and Adult Daycare.

I was given a temporary home care visit permission from Medicare after the nursing home stay, but I never started it because it was summer and one thing after another came up and I just never got to it.

But it was just as well because it would have been temporary.  But for those who have medicare this is a good way to "try out" home care if the patient qualifies for this benefit.  Inquire to your doctor.

Veterans Health care

However, unknown to me at the time, a better offer was on the horizon.  Since my husband had served honorably in the Navy when he was a young man, he had some veterans benefits available.  They just weren't available last year when I called due to lack of monies.

Everything has changed this year at the Veterans Health care.  Apparently there is money available to help vets.  Very exciting.  I was actually called back by them.  This is one year later since I first asked for help last year.  They have been very helpful and quickly set up an appointment for an in-home nursing assessment and now we will have the first session on this coming Monday, Aug 11 with an assigned aide.

Many Options for Health Care

The Veterans program may be my answer.  If you do not have this program available to you, check with your local Office on Aging to see what benefits you or a loved one may qualify for.  If you can afford the generally high rates for assisted living facilities and that is the option you prefer then that may be the best choice for you.  Or you may find it is more economical to have a home health aide.  Your choices are a live-in aide or one who comes at various times.  There are many choices for care and help to consider.

Home Care Blog

I will be blogging about the experience after Monday and updating my website about home care as well.   So please check back to read my home care experiences.

Home Care Instructions

I  wrote out an Instruction Sheet for the home care worker.  They didn't ask me to do this but I felt it was necessary.

Alzheimer's is a strange disease and each patient is different and has behaviors unique to them.

What to do With My Ten Hours a week

I am excited to have three hours alone to myself on Monday.  It will be great.  I just don't know what I will do with those 3 hours.  It's not that I don't have anything to do I just don't know what to do first.

The nursing home had recommended that I have 3-4 hours five times a week so it may be that I need to supplement the 10 hours.  I will find out and let you know.

Shopping?  Massage?  Walk?  Exercise?  Work?  Just sit and be alone somewhere peaceful.  So many choices.

I am thinking the best thing to do would be to do something that will be rejuvenating like a walk or yoga.

What would you do??  Let me hear from you.

Death at the Door

Life is a tenuous thread.  We cannot take life for granted.  While people can die at any age, when you are in your 70's, that thread gets thinner. 

Just the other day I was having another fine day when at evening preparing for bed I slipped and hit my head--very Hillary Clintonish.   I had just removed the carpeting from the floor and so the floor had no cushioning.  I literally heard my head hit and the loud cracking sound was enormous.  As soon as it happened I remember thinking "Oh my gosh I am going to pass out--or worse."  But I didn't.  Instead I unbelievably got up.
 

One cannot be too careful

No matter what the age, that feeling that death will not happen to you never goes away.  Death comes suddenly without warning in many cases.  We don't know it is there until it happens.
I immediately went to the phone and called the nurse who said I should go into the hospital and to call 911.  Instead, I drove myself to the hospital emergency room since, fortunately, I didn't have any symptoms such as dizziness, nausea, or confusion. 

Now if you told me this a few hours before it happened I wouldn't believe it since I have no problems with falling, balance or dizziness.   But it did happen.  It was a freakish accident, and, after the fact,  I have an idea how it happened.  I wasn't being careful enough and the bed had been moved to a different position by the carpet person.  Plus the room was very dark.  So it was an accident waiting to happen but I didn't recognize it.   

The arrangement of things in your house is high priority to note.  Also, get a bunch of night lights--not just one for the bathroom.  Call your local senior center or a nursing center to come with a checklist of items that should be looked out for in your home.   Some come out to the house to do this.

I recently got such a list from my doctor.  It is called "Preventing Falls at Home." If I had such a list maybe I wouldn't be nursing a tender head right now because the list had several things dealing with floors.  Here are a few items:

1.  Remove things you can trip over.
2.  Keep your house well lit.
3.  Do not carry too many things at once.
4. Move furniture and cords out of walking path.
5. Install handrails.
6.  Keep a cell phone by your bed or on your person.
7.  Store household items on lower shelves.
8.  Wear low-heeled shoes that fit well and give your feet good support.
9. Do not wear socks without shoes on wood floors. 
10. Walk on the grass if sidewalks are slippery.

In the bath: 

1. Install grab handles and non skid mats in and out of the tub and near toilet and sinks.
2. Use shower chairs and bench.
3. Use a long handled brush to help with bathing.
4. Get in and out of tub putting weakest leg in first.

(Source: The above list is general and only partial and is a printed handout by Kaiser Permanente.  See your doctor for more tips and regarding the list above for more detail.)

I also banged my knee and scraped the flesh--another thing that could turn dangerous. 

If you think it can't happen, well, it can.