Monday, February 22, 2010

Alzheimer's: Mom Didn't Laugh for Two Years and it was Killing Me


My mother, Dorothy, did not laugh for over two years. It was "killing" me....
By Bob DeMarco


Max wrote about the last great big laugh he heard from his Great Grams. It was obviously vivid in his mind. See The Plaid Pajamas and the Last Big Laugh.

This reminded me of one of the saddest periods in my life. My mother didn't laugh for over two years. She rarely smiled during this period. Severe heartache, it hurt.

I would look over and there would be mom. The glassy eyed look, the stare into what must be either confusion or "nowhere". The look of Alzheimer's and dementia.

Friday, February 12, 2010

The Alzheimer's Hamster Within YOU


Here is the good news. You are the ONE that gets to decide. Stay on, or get off the wheel. The hamster has no choice. You do......

By Bob DeMarco



One of the most difficult tasks an Alzheimer's caregiver faces is the development of a new set of communications skills. Sooner or later the caregiver needs to come to an understanding that the way they have communicated in the past, before Alzheimer's, won't work in a world filled with Alzheimer's disease.

Change is difficult under any circumstance. It is even harder when you need to change something that you have been doing all day long throughout your life.

Continue reading --

Alzheimer's Reading Room: The Alzheimer's Hamster Within YOU