Summary
Dementia Caregiver Resources, Inc. has great expectations for disease management and early diagnosis of dementia. Creating awareness of research and available resources will help to enhance the future quality of life for persons who have a form of dementia. When you're working with persons who have a form of dementia, you will need lots of patience and compassion. You will learn to love them and to embrace who they are today. You will also have to learn behavior management techniques. They still show remnants of where they came from, their life experience, personality quirks, and personal history. Allowing this person to be in the moment will allow you the freedom not to argue or convince them that their perception has flaws. Being there for them when they need a hug or a reassuring smile will bring you personal satisfaction for a job well done.
Knowing where to send families to find resources, to get a diagnosis, or to sort through the many layers of grief and anticipatory grief is so very important. Support groups, in-home services, adult day care, veterans programs and other resources will enhance the caregivers' life as well as the person who has dementia. Creating a special niche in the home health field will set you apart. Just knowing that you made a difference is a wonderful feeling! This journey has many paths. The road is bumpy, so hang on tight for the ride of your life! It will not be boring or conventional --- this much we know for sure.
Resources
Alzheimer's Foundation of America
1-866-AFA-8484
http://www.alzfdn.org/
Center for Loss and Life Transition
1-970-226-6050
http://www.centerforloss.com/index.php
Fisher Center for Alzheimer's Research Foundation
1-800-ALZINFO or 1-800-259-4636
www.alzinfo.org/index.asp
Florida Brain Bank Program at Mt. Sinai Medical Center (Miami)
1-305-674-2543
www.elderaffairs.state.fl.us/english/BrainBank/about.php
Harvard Brain Bank
1-800-BRAINBANK or 1-800-272-4622
www.brainbank.mclean.org/
The Mayo Clinic
Arizona: 1-480-301-8000
Florida: 1-904-053-2000
Minnesota: 1-507-284-2511
www.mayoclinic.com/
Medscape
(Registration required) www.medscape.com/home
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
1-800-352-9424
www.ninds.nih.gov
Wikipedia
www.en.wikipedia.org
About the Author
Karen (Karle) Truman, Ph.D. is the President and Founder of Dementia Caregiver Resources, Inc. She has been on the Alzheimer's pathless path since 1959 when her grandmother was placed into a nursing home. She then witnessed her mother, several aunts, and uncles also stricken with this terrible mind-robbing disease. Her mission and passion is to educate, support and provide resources to family and professional caregivers in a compassionate and kindhearted manner. She won a 2006 North American Mature Publisher's Association (NAMPA) award for her monthly column - The Caregiver's Path.
