I Can No Longer Get Mom In The Shower. How Do I Keep Her Clean?

Fear of taking a shower is common among people with dementia.

Here are some suggestions:

• Make sure the bathroom lighting is adequate. An inability to see will only increase her anxiety.
• Let the shower run first for a few minutes, to warm up the bathroom. No one likes getting into a cold shower.
• Purchase a shower chair at a medical supply company or a pharmacy, so she can sit when she feels unsteady.
• Install a hand-held shower head. This is often less threatening than water pouring down from above.
• Play soft, calming music.
• Use a soap she used to love, and from which she might recall the fragrance.
• She wants as much privacy as possible. Let her try and bathe herself, with some sideline coaching.
• Try having her soak in the bathtub, instead of a shower. This is more relaxing.
• Consider having a home health agency look over your bathroom, and make suggestions about how it could be better-adapted to your Mom's needs.
• Consider sponge baths as an occasional option.
• Consider bathing your mom in bed, using a dry shampoo, which many hospitals are doing.

Try and stick with the bathing routine your mother always had. Morning or night? Shower or bath? She'll feel more at ease if her routine is similar.

Lastly, consider hiring a bath aide, on your own or through an agency. Your mom may be embarassed to be bathed by her daughter, and might respond better to someone outside the family.

When you're a caregiver to someone with dementia or Alzheimer's, questions never stop popping into your mind. But we can help... because we're Elder Law attorneys.

At The Law Offices of Alice Reiter Feld & Associates, we've been walking South Florida families through the Dementia Journey for the past 33 years. And we've prepared them in advance for that possbility, as well, with comprehensive estate planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, long-term care planning, asset-protection plans, and assistance with Medicaid or the VA.

We know every step of the Dementia Journey. And we're just a phone call away.

The Seven Big Risk Factors For Alzheimer's

Thirty-five million people around the world suffer from Alzheimer's. And this number's going to skyrocket as the Baby Boom generation ages.

However, researchers are finding that how we live can have a major effect on our changes of getting it. And that seven conditions, in particular, may actually account for half of those 35,000,000 cases.

The implications are startling. This means that you can start to fight Alzheimer's no matter how old - or young - you are!

Here's the list of "The Dirty Seven"...

RISK 1 - LACK OF EXERCISE: The No. 1 preventable factor with regard to Alzheimer's is exercise... or, more precisely, lack thereof. So get your rump off the couch!

RISK 2 - DEPRESSION: About 15% of Alzheimer's cases - or one in every seven - may stem from chronic depression. So if you're suffering from long-term depression, you're at much higher risk.

RISK 3 - SMOKING: If the possibility of lung cancer hasn't yet scared you off, maybe this will - 11% of Alzheimer's patients were smokers!

RISK 4 - HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE: If your numbers are high, so is your chance of getting Alzheimer's. Some 8% of Alzheimer's patients had high blood pressure.

RISK 5 - OBESITY: America's carrying around way too much weight. And some 7% of Alzheimer's patients were overweight in mid-life.

RISK 6 - LOW LEVEL OF EDUCATION: If you have a lower level of education, you have a higher chance of Alzheimer's (7% of Alzheimer's patients). But it's never too late to start doing some mental gymnastics!

RISK 7 - DIABETES: Researchers say that 3% of U.S. Alzheimer's patients have diabetes. So problems with blood sugar are a potential marker.

If you have a family member dealing with Alzheimer's or dementia, we can help. At The Law Offices of Alice Reiter Feld & Associates, we're Elder Law attorneys. And we have one of the largest Alzheimer's/Dementia Resource Centers in South Florida.

Over the past 33 years, we've walked thousands of families through the Alzheimer's/Dementia Journey. And we've helped them prepare in advance for the possibility of it, as well... with comprehensive estate planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, long-term care planning, asset-protection plans, and assistance with Medicaid or the VA.

We know every step of the Alzheimer's/Dementia Journey. And we're just a phone call away.

The Ultimate Cruel Irony: Alzheimer's Researcher Has Alzheimer's

What happens when a seeker of a cure for a dreaded disease becomes a victim of that disease?

It's the cruelest irony imaginable. A quest that moves out of the scientific and into the personal. And a race against time.

That's the situation in which Rae Lyn Burke finds herself.

Rae Lyn Burke is a noted researcher. After helping to develop vaccines for HIV, herpes, and hepatitis B, she turned her attention, in the 1990's, to a newly-emerging disease that had started claiming seniors at an alarming rate - Alzheimer's.

She helped develop an experimental drug called bapineuzumab, which helps clear the plaque in the brain that scientists believe can precipitate Alzheimer's. And her early work with mice was encouraging enough, in her mind, to presage beneficial applications for Alzheimer's patients.

Rae Lyn Burke didn't only "work" at a desk. She was a 24/7 thinking-machine, the kind of person whose mind never stopped; for example, she loved to play with numbers in her head while commuting. And it was while playing those games that she began to realize something was wrong.

In 2008, she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Now - at the age of 64 - even the easiest math problems are impossible for her. And she struggles with simple household tasks.

Burke, however, is still searching for a cure for Alzheimer's... the only way she now can. Every three months she receives bapineuzumab... the drug she helped create.

She believes the drug is slowing the progress of her disease. But it's not curing it.

She still has enough mental activity to realize what she's lost... and what she's going to lose.

It's a fate that could happen to any of us... or a family member. But you don't have to face it alone.

At The Law Offices of Alice Reiter Feld & Associates, we practice Elder Law - and only Elder Law. Over the past 33 years, we've walked thousands of South Florida families through the Alzheimer's/Dementia Journey. And we've helped them prepare in advance for it, as well, with comprehensive estate planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, long-term care planning, asset-protection plans, and assistance with Medicaid and the VA.

The Alzheimer's/Dementia Journey isn't an easy one. But we know the way... And we're just a phone call away.

The Let's-Not-Talk-About-Death-Checklist

As I mentioned last week, my mother is dying. And I can’t get my Dad – who’s normally an outgoing person – to talk about it.

He ranges from knowing she’s dying to not wanting to know. But he never talks about it. And that’s made me think about why we, as a society, are so afraid to talk about death. Like many a person who has hallucinations, we often seem to have a hallucination, as well…that if we don’t talk about it, it won’t happen.

Well, folks, I’m here to tell you that Ben Franklin was right about death and taxes. We talk plenty about taxes. But mention “death” – which, after all, is part of life – and we turn into stone.

News flash! Avoiding the conversation doesn’t postpone death!

Even my Dad once said that we start the process of dying the day we’re born.

So, if you’re a member of the “If-I-Don’t-Talk-About-It, It-Won’t-Happen” Club, here’s a short checklist to make sure you maintain your membership in good standing…

·         Do you avoid thinking about death?

·         Do you believe that thinking about death makes it happen?

·         Are you superstitious about death?

If you checked “Yes” to all three questions…congratulations! You’re a charter member of the club!

This isn’t an easy topic to discuss. But if you know of even one person who’s been around longer because his family didn’t discuss it…I’d like to meet him!

I don’t know how I’ll react when my Mom passes. I don’t know how I’ll feel a year afterward. But I do know this: I’m thinking about it. And I’m letting myself come to terms with it.

If you need someone to talk with about death, we can help. At The Law Offices of Alice Reiter Feld & Associates, we practice Elder Law. For the past 33 years, we’ve walked thousands of South Florida families through this journey. And we’ve prepared them for it in advance, as well, with comprehensive estate planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, long-term care planning, asset protection plans, and assistance with Medicaid and the VA.

We can walk you through the journey, too. And we’re just a phone call away.