Every morning, hundreds of thousands of people make a pot of coffee, pour a glass of juice and fix a bowl of cereal and milk. Easy, right?
But for an increasing number of people, even one of those simple tasks is a major hurdle to undertake. For people who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, the mind is in a fog, the body doesn’t seem to cooperate and it’s difficult to verbalize what is wrong.
For a caretaker, of which 75 percent are family or friends of the patient with dementia, the frustrations over having to repeat oneself and worries about the patient’s safety make it difficult to remain calm.
Cindy Vainright of Greenville, a caretaker of a family member who suffers from dementia, thought she understood fairly well.
But on Tuesday, she actually experienced what it’s like to perform everyday tasks with the handicaps that people with dementia experience. She took part in the Virtual Dementia Tour, created by Second Wind Dreams, at the senior center.
“I just wanted to kind of see how she perceived the world,” Vainright said about her mother-in-law, “and then maybe from here, I can re-evaluate her surroundings to make her life a little easier, less confusing.”
People with dementia often misplace items, including their glasses. They may suffer from arthritis and diabetes, have difficulty walking and frequently drop things. Often, their brains can’t filter out all the noises around them, making it easy to miss information or lose their train of thought.
Vainright’s brief experience helped her feel what it might be like to suffer from dementia so she could better understand how to handle situations that come up.
“Patience is a virtue,” said Mineko Holloway, the executive director of the Lenoir Council on Aging. It takes lots of patience and flexibility to be a caretaker of someone with dementia, she said.
Caretakers need to recognize their loved one may take longer to do simple tasks and may need support and their environment changed to make daily life easier, Holloway said. They may require frequent reminders and can probably only handle one task at a time.
Their behaviors include repetitive questioning, wandering, hoarding, frustration and depression leading to aggression, she said. Dealing with those behaviors is frustrating for the caregiver, as well.
“Education and proper training is the best way to prevent elder abuse,” Holloway said.
January Brown, a caregiver specialist with the Eastern Carolina Council Area on Aging in New Bern, said most people who go through the virtual tour end up with a better understanding of the behaviors of their loved ones with dementia and can deal with them better.
“They need to understand,” she said, “that it’s not intentional behavior when they’re going through Alzheimer’s. It’s the progression of the disease.”
The patients aren’t being stubborn, Brown said. Day-to-day life is difficult for them.
“When I see her getting frustrated,” Vainright said, “… now I understand because so many sensory things are bombarding her. … Noise makes her forget what she was talking about.”
Vainright said she will try to speak slower, give just one task at a time, redirect instead of reprimand, remain calm and offer words of praise and encouragement.
“It did make me realize some things I’ve been doing right,” she said. “… Part of it is educating yourself about the disease.”
Organizers hope to offer another Virtual Dementia Tour in Kinston before the end of the year.
Tamyra Jovel, the program services director for Alzheimer’s North Carolina in Greenville, said there are lots of resources available for caregivers. For more information, call Jovel at 252-355-0054.
Margaret Fisher can be reached at 252-559-1082 or Margaret.Fisher@Kinston.com. Follow her on Twitter @MargaretFishr.
FYI
For information about Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia, call Alzheimer’s North Carolina at 252-355-0054 or visit alznc.com
What you can do for a person with dementia:
Make the environment as familiar as possible
Make visual choices available
Create calm and safety
Encourage/reassure frequently
Keep the patient busy
Take cues from them and adjust accordingly
Adjust time expectations
Source: Second Wind Dreams
Dementia Workshop
When: 9 a.m.-noon, Oct. 30
Where: Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Service, 1791 N.C. 11/55
For information, call Mineko Holloway at 252-527-1545, ext. 223
Other events leading up to National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and National Caregivers Month in November:
‘Energize your Caregiving’ workshop, 9 a.m.-noon, Oct. 12, First Baptist Church, Farmville, preregister with SILVERcare, 252-355-5677
Candlelight Reflections ceremony, 6 p.m., Nov. 1, Greenville Town Common, Tamyra Jovel, 252-355-0054
2013 Greenville Region Walk, 9 a.m. registration, Nov. 2, Tamyra Jovel, 252-355-0054