ALZHEIMER'S BLOGGING

OK so today is a special day for me. I turned 56yrs old. Some people hate it when their birthday comes around, they will not admit their age, or they tell people to ignore the whole thing. I look at it like this. Life is a gift from God. He has let me live another minute, hour, day, month and year. So why be afraid to tell your age. It beats being worm meat which we eventually all surpass to. Our soul leaves our body, but our body the worms enjoy. So I thank God for living yet another year. I thank him for my health, my mind and my family. I want to be like my grandma Clara Ricci. She will be 100 yrs old next year. Arthritis has crippled her hands so she can not nead dough anymore, but she still bakes bread and cookies and rides a three wheel bike. I hope I am helping people out with my little blogs every day. I hope that someone is reading and getting something out of what I know.

Today I wanted to talk about safety at home. It was hard with my father in law to try and keep him safe. Part of his mind would work so he would start a project but not remember how to finish. We now have safety locks for the kitchen cabinets and for door handles. They were made for children, but why not use them to keep your loved one with Alzheimer's from getting into something that they might swallow or something they can hurt them self, like a tool. In the bathrooms, you may want to take off the locks on the doors. I remember when my father in law locked himself in the bathroom, and my son had to take off the door knob so I could get in. Put your vitamins or your prescription drugs in a locked cabinet. I remember one day when my father in law was scavenging through the kitchen pantry going through the spices, but telling my husband he was looking for his medicine. In the bathtub you may want to put in a bath chair. I found it was hard for my father in law to sit down in the floor of the bathtub. But by putting in the bath chair he could sit comfortably and still wash up. It is also a good idea to keep little night lights around in the house. My father in law forgot how to turn on light switch. So he would bump into things when wondering through the house in the middle of the night.Last but not least:

•Enroll the person in MedicAlert + Alzheimer's Association Safe Return®, a 24-hour nationwide emergency response service for individuals with Alzheimer's or related dementia that wander or who have a medical emergency.
http://www.alz.org/safetycenter/we_can_help_safety_medicalert_safereturn.asp

Sincerely,
Marie Fostino
Alzheimer's A Caretakers Journal
Seaboard Press An Imprint Of James A Rock Pub., Co.
www.mariefostino.com
www.mariefostino.blogspot.com