Alzheimer's Blog:

I thought I would share with you one of the calls I ran on my ambulance yesterday. I was called for a 88 yr old female who got tired after her lunch, had to have help to walk away from the lunch table to a chair in the living room and fell asleep. They said that wasn't like her normally. They called her son who said she must be having a stroke and so I want her to go to the hospital. They told me she was pretty with it, has no medical history and found the medication list for me. Hmm How can you have no medical history yet have medication to take. My partner woke up this sweet women by calling her name and asked her how she was feeling. She said fine, just tired. I found that she was taking lisinopril, and aricept. OK playing detective, I figure she has at least to have for a medical history high blood pressure and Dementia/Alzheimer's. I did the little stoke test, and she passed it. On the way to the hospital as I talked to her I found out except for her name she doesn't remember anything. She could not tell me how old she was, or her birthday just to name a couple of things. We took her to the hospital but even the nurses at the hospital couldn't figure out why she was there.

It is important that where ever your loved one is living at, it is important that they know all about them. They need to know if they they have high blood pressure or Alzheimer's or Congested heart failure. They should not be given a box of drugs with out explanation. This home was in a house in a regular neighborhood that housed about six elderly people. And I am sure that the son or daughter who put them there wanted to try and give them a life not in a nursing home yet to have someone watching them. But they have to be honest with them.

This poor patient had no idea why we brought her to the hospital and why she couldn't stay and sleep. Please do some research before you drop off your loved one in a home no matter where it is and make sure they can take care of your loved one the right way.

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