May 21, 2012

More than one medical professional has said that a career in the field of Alzheimer’s and dementia isn’t something you choose, it chooses you.

That’s true for me, as readers of this blog know. After taking care of my own parents for nearly two years, I opened BrightStar Care last summer to help seniors with their daily activities so they can remain in their own homes. Many of the people who have come to work with me have similar experiences.

I’d like to tell you about one of them, Faye LaPorte. Faye was an executive in the corporate travel industry for more than 25 years when her mother began needing more and more assistance. So she retired and moved her mother in with her and became a full-time caregiver for the next eight years.

With no background in healthcare or aging, Faye found herself thrust into a new world. But rather than sit with her mother in front of the TV, Faye looked around at all the yarn and fabric, the buttons and ribbons she had collected over years of knitting and sewing. And she looked at her mother.

“Behind those staring eyes was still a working brain,” Faye wrote in her application to BrightStar. “It was just that ‘Point A’ didn’t always make it to ‘Point B.’ But there are ways for them to enjoy these later years instead of just sitting and staring.”

Faye quickly found that her mother liked to hold fabric remnants in her hands to “fiddle and fidget.” So Faye made “fidgets” – little pillows with fringe made from the softest felt. She embroidered her mother’s name in the middle. That was just the beginning.

“I developed many games and activities for my mother that most people would have thought impossible,” she wrote.
Faye joined my team in September and gravitated toward those with dementia. In each case, she has made a difference and brought people out of their “staring eyes.”

Last week, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius reaffirmed a commitment to conquering Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias with a specific goal of finding effective ways to prevent and treat the disease by 2025.

I wrote about the draft plan for this goal in January. www.brightstarcare.com/grosse-pointesoutheast-macomb/2012/01/26/imagine-a-future-without-fear-of-the-future

With the announcement last week, the draft becomes the official plan with five commendable goals: prevent and effectively treat the disease by 2025; optimize care quality and efficiency; expand support for Alzheimer’s patients and their families; enhance public awareness and engagement; track progress and drive improvement.

With Faye at the helm, our BrightStar office is developing a plan of our own that caregivers and family members can easily customize for their loved one. In addition to her natural understanding of the disease, Faye is certified in the Alzheimer’s Association “essentiaALZ Program.”

Faye is teaching our caregivers to look for breakthroughs, which she defines as an “observable difference in thought process and task completion that results in improvements in daily life.”

Faye has many examples of how she has done this with our clients. Two of my favorites: One involves knitting and the other shorthand.

By observing the “difference in thought process and task completion,” Faye was able to get a 93-year-old woman (who had given up crocheting long ago due to arthritic hands and confusion) to crochet a winter hat because Faye had started one that was “all wrong.” After correcting Faye’s “mistakes” and completing the hat flawlessly, the woman surprised Faye with a matching shawl – made on her own time when Faye wasn’t with her.

In the second case, Faye helped an 84-year-old Alzheimer’s patient recall the shorthand and math she did as a secretary 60-plus years ago. With Glenn Miller on the stereo, the woman told Faye about the dances she went to after work in Detroit. Through Faye’s deft conversation, the woman began speaking about her secretarial job and was soon writing both their names in shorthand.

For people with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, Faye calls this time “the magical years.” And that’s why she makes a difference. Her clients have the magic, and she’s their awe-struck companion.

May 7, 2012

Last week, we concluded a two-part series on “How the Brain Ages” with researchers from Wayne State’s Institute of Gerontology. 

Not surprisingly, the program was nearly standing-room only at the Grosse Pointe War Memorial.  Sponsored by BrightStar of Grosse Pointe / Southeast Macomb and Services for Older Citizens, the program offered interactive brain exercises and gave the audience practical information on how to give their brain a daily workout. (more…)

April 16, 2012

One of my daughters’ favorite childhood picture books is “Owl Babies.” It’s a beautifully illustrated and simple story of three baby owls axiously awaiting the return of their mother from her nighttime hunt.

The youngest of the three, Bill, calls out repeatedly, “I want my mommy!” as the older two try to console and convince him — and themselves — that surely she’ll return. And of course, she does.

“Owl Babies” has been on my mind as I start a new stage of my life, the stage without a mother. Though my passage into this new stage came as naturally as can be — Mom lived a long life and was with my siblings and me well into our middle age — there have been times this past week I have felt like baby owl Bill. (more…)

March 12, 2012

Everyday 7,000 people in this country turn 65 years old,
according to AARP. The 2010 U.S. Census reports that some 5.5 million people
are 85 years or older. By 2050, about 20 million people in the U.S. will be 85
or older.

Are we ready? Is America ready? There is an incredible
amount of research, planning and preparing for this population going on around
the world – and right here in our own community in Grosse Pointe, Michigan. (more…)

Feb. 18, 2012

With the last few days being so mild – actually quite beautiful – I wondered about all the snowbirds who had left Michigan for Florida, Arizona and California for the winter. My mom included.

“If we had known we were going to have a winter like this, we could have kept Mom home,” I told my husband Sunday morning as I turned down the thermostat and cracked open a window. (My mom left for my sister’s home in California last month where she’ll stay until June.) (more…)

Jan. 26, 201

Imagine a time when Alzheimer’s is diagnosed in the very earliest stages, a treatment is prescribed – and it works. Imagine a time when your doctor recommends ways to prevent Alzheimer’s – and it helps. Imagine a time
when every other senior citizen you see – or hear about – is not suffering from
this ugly disease that steals our parents from us and makes them our children.

This is what the National Alzheimer’s Plan – released in draft form earlier this month by the Department of Health and Human Services – proposes to do. Give us a future without fear of the future. (more…)

Jan. 16, 2012

It’s been a week since Mom’s been gone. She’s in California, staying with my sister Natalie for five months. Natalie’s home on the “gold
coast” of California is where Mom has been planning to spend this winter.

And why not? There, she wakes to a view of the ocean. She enjoys mild temperatures and daily golf cart rides around the property to visit
the horses in their stables. She’ll get time with her four west coast children and their families. She’ll attend a granddaughter’s wedding and a grandson’s high school graduation.

This is a good thing. Everyone agrees, including Mom. (more…)

Jan. 2, 2012

As we welcome the new year –
and plan how to get our elderly parents safely and comfortably through another
Michigan winter — let’s remember one of the easiest things we can do for them
can help avoid a serious situation.

Dehydration is something we
tend to think about in hot weather and rarely worry about this time of year.
But my aunt’s hospitalization just before Christmas reminded me how important
it is for the elderly to drink lots of water and eat right to keep electrolytes
in balance. (more…)

Dec. 19, 2011

Some 13 percent of older black citizens of Detroit and the suburbs report they have been the victim of a scam or a theft in the past year while the national average is just 3 percent, according to new research from Wayne State’s Institute of Gerontology.

Dr. Peter Lichtenberg, the IOG’s director, just finished crunching the numbers and the results are dramatic – but not surprising, he said.

“Three-quarters of those interviewed said they underestimated how much they’d need in retirement,” he said. “And the best victims of fraud are those that are stressed about their finances.” (more…)