When my Mom was battling Alzheimer's there was a moment when I realized that a person meeting for her for the first time would not be meeting the person that I knew and loved. The disease had simply taken too much.
It's heartbreaking for anyone caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia when the disease progresses to that point. As sad as it was to get to that place, I also realized that at some point it would have a profound impact on her care. Molly Gray was a delightfully, sometimes frustratingly, quirky person. So many little things could bother her, or make her happy. And Alzheimer's would amplify her reactions to them to the point where they weren't so "little" anymore. When we needed professional home care, and later memory care, our whole family worried about her comfort. We could could still understand her. We still "got" her. But how in the world could a stranger connect with her?
As it turned out our worries were not unfounded in many situations. Adult day care, home care, hospital stays and rehab centers were disasters.* We felt we couldn't leave Mom's side for a second, and we had to repeatedly educate the people caring for her about her personal preferences and sensitivities. It was frustrating for us, but mainly our hearts were breaking for Mom because she simply could not speak up for herself.
They say that "necessity is the mother of invention" but I think for The Memory Kit pain, frustration and compassion played the larger roles. Our goal in creating the Care Companion and Care Card was to make life more comfortable for people living with Alzheimer's/dementia, and to provide some peace of mind for their families. Both products are designed, with the help of experts, to enable your loved one's caregivers to get to know them and understand their needs when you're not there.
Jeff
*Not every experience we had with care providers and healthcare professionals was bad. We made a change in Mom's primary care physician to a doctor who can accurately be called an angel, and the team at Sunrise in Beverly Hills was nothing short of amazing. They are a part of our family now.
It's heartbreaking for anyone caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's or dementia when the disease progresses to that point. As sad as it was to get to that place, I also realized that at some point it would have a profound impact on her care. Molly Gray was a delightfully, sometimes frustratingly, quirky person. So many little things could bother her, or make her happy. And Alzheimer's would amplify her reactions to them to the point where they weren't so "little" anymore. When we needed professional home care, and later memory care, our whole family worried about her comfort. We could could still understand her. We still "got" her. But how in the world could a stranger connect with her?
As it turned out our worries were not unfounded in many situations. Adult day care, home care, hospital stays and rehab centers were disasters.* We felt we couldn't leave Mom's side for a second, and we had to repeatedly educate the people caring for her about her personal preferences and sensitivities. It was frustrating for us, but mainly our hearts were breaking for Mom because she simply could not speak up for herself.
They say that "necessity is the mother of invention" but I think for The Memory Kit pain, frustration and compassion played the larger roles. Our goal in creating the Care Companion and Care Card was to make life more comfortable for people living with Alzheimer's/dementia, and to provide some peace of mind for their families. Both products are designed, with the help of experts, to enable your loved one's caregivers to get to know them and understand their needs when you're not there.
Jeff
*Not every experience we had with care providers and healthcare professionals was bad. We made a change in Mom's primary care physician to a doctor who can accurately be called an angel, and the team at Sunrise in Beverly Hills was nothing short of amazing. They are a part of our family now.
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