Many hospitals and senior care facilities give supplemental nutrition drinks to their patients or residents. These drinks typically provide up to 250 to 300 or more calories per serving, 14 grams of protein, and up to 20 grams of sugar. They come in many flavors and styles, and their primary function is to assist in weight gain. Or, more radically, stop weight loss. When my mom was first moved to her memory care facility, she lost a lot of weight. She was anxious and disorien

Is there an alternative to giving anti-psychotic drugs and ensuring a meaningful, calm day for my mom? I sure hope so, because it saddens me to no end to see what these drugs are doing to her. I am half way through a book called Contented Dementia: 24-Hour Wraparound Care for Lifelong Well-being* that was suggested by a friend. This book speaks my language. It puts into a framework of caring for dementia patients many of the ways I’ve tried to interact with Mom. It does it in

We tried unsuccessfully to take Mom’s rings off today. In addition to her wedding and engagement ring, Mom wears four other rings, each one tightly hugging her fingers, so much so that even with liberal amounts of lubrication, the rings do not come off. She’s been wearing them for so long that her fingers have shaped themselves around the rings. Mom does not have pain in her fingers from her rings. They are not (yet) cutting off circulation. But they look like they might. The

Mom doesn't like to drink water. I'll hand her a glass, and when she takes a sip, she invariably says, "Uch. It's tasteless." Water is tasteless and colorless. My guess is that Mom doesn't really see the water. Her perception has been altered by her Alzheimer's. Drinking water is essential to our overall health. It flushes out unwanted wastes from our bodies. It aids in the prevention of constipation. It keeps us from experiencing headaches and pains from dehydration. And it

Those of us with relatively good health take feeling well for granted. When we get sick, no matter how minor the illness, all that changes. When we're sick, life becomes difficult. It's as if we enter a netherworld, a parallel reality, where even minor tasks become a challenge. Worst of all, we must rely on others to help us function. It takes a strong person to allow themselves to give up control of certain facets of their lives and accept assistance. Add to that the difficu