12 FAITH REGIONAL
HEALTH SERVICES
YOU’VE JUST LEARNED
that your spouse has Alzheimer’s
disease. There’s no doubt that it’s a
frightening diagnosis for both of you.
Your lives are going to change—and
not in entirely predictable ways.
Alzheimer’s disease progresses
differently in different people. How
it affects your spouse (and you) can
change from day to day.
Here is some information that you
may find helpful from the Family
Caregiver Alliance (FCA) and oth-
ers on caring for someone with
Alzheimer’s.
Plan your days
•
Routines can be good for people
with Alzheimer’s. Get up, eat meals,
bathe and go to bed at the same
time. But stay flexible to changing
needs.
•
Does your spouse seem better at
certain times of the day? That may
be a good time to schedule more
demanding daily tasks.
Advice
ALZHEIMER’S
for
caregivers
•
Prepare for an activity in advance
to avoid confusing your spouse. For
example, have towels and clothes
ready before he or she takes a bath.
Or turn off lights and have your
keys and wallet in hand before you
both leave the house.
Keep it simple
•
Your spouse may rebel at being told
what to do. If that happens, let him
or her choose clothes or foods. Just
limit the selection to make it easy
on both of you.
•
Encourage your spouse to do what-
ever he or she is able. And help
extend those abilities with simple
adaptations, such as using Velcro
fasteners on clothes or cups with
lids.
Communicate and engage
•
Talk with your spouse in a calm
voice. Avoid complex sentences.
•
Help your spouse focus by starting
conversations with his or her name.
•
Exercise is good for both of you,
so stay active. Take walks together.
Work in the yard.
Check out resources
•
Faith Regional Personal Touch
Home Care offers
home care and
support
to individuals and their
families on a private-pay basis.
Services can include bathing, dress-
ing, personal care, nursing visits
and even help with filling weekly
medication sets. Patient care is
supervised by a registered nurse
who coordinates the development
of a home care plan, working with
physicians and family members so
that the plan developed is the most
appropriate and affordable. To learn
more about Personal Touch Home
Care, call
402-644-7453
or visit
•
Respite care
is available for hos-
pice patients and their families. A
respite care volunteer can visit when
needed for respite care. If extended
respite care is needed, the hospice
patients spend up to five days in a
facility for respite care. Call Faith
Regional Hospice at
402-644-7453
or your hospice provider to learn
more.
•
Consider joining an Alzheimer’s
support group
. You may learn
valuable coping skills from other
caregivers. Norfolk area Alzheimer’s
support group meetings are held on
the second Tuesday of each month
at 7 p.m. at the Norfolk Veterans
Home, 600 E. Benjamin Ave. Call
RoseAnn at
402-370-3330
for
more information. Meetings are
also held on the third Thursday
of the month at 1 p.m. at Heritage
of Bel-Air, 1203 N. 13th St. Call
Sarah at
402-371-4991
for more
information.
To learn more about the disease
and get specific tips on caring for
someone with Alzheimer’s, visit the
FCA website at
or call
800-445-8106
. You can
also call the Alzheimer’s Disease
Education and Referral Center at
800-438-4380
or go to its website
at
.
