Alzheimer's and Dementia News 137

Believe It or Not Edition...

Alzheimer's Reading Room

Council boss ‘appalled’ after elderly woman left on bus overnight -- Luton News
THE chief executive of Luton Borough Council has described an incident in which an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s was left locked in a minbus overnight as “appalling”.
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Luton Council 'shocked' at Alzheimer's sufferer left on bus (Video) -- BBC
Luton Borough Council has said it is "deeply shocked" that a woman suffering from Alzheimer's was left locked on one of its minibuses overnight.

The woman, who is in her 80s, was picked up from the Hockwell Ring Day Centre in Luton on Monday.

She should have been taken back to her sheltered accommodation but was found on Tuesday morning at Kingsway depot.
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Nurse 'threatened to nail dementia patient's hand to the floor' -- The Telegraph
A nurse told a vulnerable patient suffering from dementia she would "f---ing nail your hand to the floor" if she touched her buzzer again, a misconduct hearing heard.

Sally Miller pushed, grabbed and swore at patients in her care, telling one vulnerable resident "I'm sick of you" adding: "if you keep coming and complaining, I will sort you out."
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Sacked carer who fed vulnerable OAP dog biscuit claims twisted prank was 'just a laugh' -- Daily Record
A CARE home worker who fed a dog biscuit to a dementia patient has dismissed the vile prank as “just a laugh”.
Karen Morton, 49 – whose identity we reveal today – shrugged it off as “only one biscuit”.
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‘Cruel’ carer’s sex taunts to OAPs with dementia -- Shields Gazette
A CRUEL carer launched a vile bullying campaign on elderly dementia sufferers he was supposed to be looking after in a South Tyneside residential home, a court heard.

It was claimed Christopher Allen, 36, gave elderly residents cruel nicknames, made inappropriate sexual comments and gestures towards them, kicked a ball into their faces as they slept, swore at them, teased them and made a 90-year-old woman cry.
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Missing Woman with Dementia May Be in Chicago's West or South Sides -- Fox News
A woman with dementia has been missing since last week from her Calumet City home is believed to be traveling on CTA buses in the South and West sides of Chicago.
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Mystery still surrounds dementia patient death -- The Canberra Times
Mystery still surrounds the death of a 94-year-old resident of the facility, who was found with facial injuries after a disturbance in the 32-bed secure dementia ward of the Jindalee Aged Care Residence in Narrabundah in January.
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Lawyer Gets Prison Time For Cheating Alzheimer's Patient -- Indiana News
An Indianapolis lawyer who cheated an Alzheimer's patient out of tens of thousands of dollars and drained another family's trust was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison.
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Pooches help to spark happy memories at Alzheimer’s Support in Devizes -- Wiltshire News

Dementia patients from the Sidmouth Club in Devizes with
winning whippets Monty and Dave

Check out those faces.
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More Insight and Advice from the Alzheimer's Reading Room

• What’s the Difference Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
• Something Had to Change
• Alzheimer's Caregivers are the Chosen
• What is Alzheimer's Disease?
• What is Dementia?
• Communicating in Alzheimer's World
• Alzheimer's and Learning How to Trust
• Learning How to Communicate with Someone Suffering From Alzheimer's Disease
• Alzheimer's World -- Trying to Reconnect with Someone Suffering from Alzheimer's Disease
• Rewiring My Brain and Stepping into Alzheimer's World
• Why I Invented Alzheimer's World and the Power of Positive Reinforcement

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Oh

Of course, Alzheimer's World being what it is, it's not always the right thing to say.

By Claudia Marshall-Apers

When my mom started exhibiting some of the bizarre behaviors of moderate to severe Alzheimer's, I felt a little like Alice who had fallen down the rabbit hole.

Things were getting “curiouser and curiouser”.

Then I found the Alzheimer's Reading Room and discovered that there was another world called Alzheimer's World but I didn't fully understand how to communicate there.

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I knew for sure that having a conversation with my mom was at times a tricky business.

In Alzheimer's World, it seems that subtle little differences in what the caregiver says mean a lot as far as the response from the “caregivee”. If you get it wrong, it's kind of like when NASA miscalculated a trajectory by a few millimeters and missed the planet they were aiming for completely.

It's tough to get it right – if you go into Alzheimer's World all the way you become lost and confused yourself. If you stay outside, the Alzheimer's caregivee becomes angry and tells you you're crazy.

In trying different things, one day my mom was telling me something straight from Alzheimer's World (I don't know, she saw someone who has been dead for 20 years or something about the mafia). I was not in the mood to go in or stay out one way or the other so I just replied with “oh”.

This must have given her the green light somehow because she kept on going. So I said “oh” again. She went on for a little while more and I said “oh” one more time before changing the subject completely.

I didn't hear any more about it that day. I guess “oh” was enough to let her know that I had heard her and yet allowed me to not engage in a conversation that could ultimately go wrong one way or the other.

I have used the word "Oh" many times. Of course, Alzheimer's World being what it is, it's not always the right thing to say.

Claudia Marshall-Apers is the full-time caregiver to her mom, Pauline, who is in the moderate to severe stages of Alzheimer's/dementia. Claudia is a transplant from New York where she was born and raised and now lives in the beautiful landscape of Rio Rancho New Mexico with her husband and 18 and 21-year-old sons, when they are home, along with their dog Cinnamon. Claudia holds a Master's in Art Education and is currently working on a series of artwork about Alzheimer's/dementia.

More Insight and Advice from the Alzheimer's Reading Room

• How Alzheimer's Spreads Throughout the Brain
• Test Your Memory for Alzheimer's (5 Best Self Assessment Tests)
• What is Alzheimer's Disease?
• What is Dementia?
• What’s the Difference Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
• Communicating in  Alzheimer's World
• How the Loss of Memory Works in Alzheimer’s Disease, and How Understanding This Could Help You
• Learning How to Communicate with Someone Suffering From Alzheimer's Disease
• Alzheimer's World -- Trying to Reconnect with Someone Suffering from Alzheimer's Disease
• Does the Combination of Aricept and Namenda Help Slow the Rate of Decline in Alzheimer's Patients
• Driving with Alzheimer's Can Mean Death
• About the Alzheimer's Reading Room

Original content Bob DeMarco, the Alzheimer's Reading Room