Thursday night , the AFA (an Alzheimer's group) sponsors a live call-in for we caregivers . The topics change weekly...this week they addressed "Taking Care of the Caregiver" . After the guest speaker , Stella Mora Henry , discussed options for care and developing a plan , the floor was opened to questions . The first lady asked about treatment options to control inappropriate behavior in a facility with different levels of competancy . I was next to ask about sleeping...no , not Mother's , but my lack of sleep !! After our situation was explained ,(that constant vigilance was required...that she not get up unknown to me , that her episodes of sleep apnea be monitored...things that preclude sleep for me...to say nothing about her snoring !) she asked what concerned me about the possibility of Mother getting up at night. The obvious is that she doesn't remember the necessity of glasses , nor of turning on lights...night-time cruising could lead to injury,driven by her fears of being alone (not remembering I sleep in the same room !). I told the speaker her escape from the house is now pretty well controlled by the key-lock deadbolt and back door alarm and by the wonderful backup of Project Lifesaver ! That transmitter allows the police to find her (their longest time of recovery was 20 minutes !) ,with a range of one mile by car and seven miles by plane ! I am always happy to sing their praises and since this was a recorded line , this information is there for all who need it !
The speaker suggested an egg-crate mattress pad , as they seem to change the center-of-gravity for these folks , making it more difficult for them to sit up ! She also said that the caregivers were the patient's greatest asset...nice to hear...glad we're appreciated...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
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