Santa Pops

Even though he had advanced avascular dementia, he still enjoyed playing Santa, ringing his bells, doing his "ho, ho, ho" and passing out candy canes to staff and residents at Kidron Bethel Village where he was in full care.

Hadley gets Grandpa to Dance

Even though he was not much for dancing, he was always up for playing with his Great Granddaughter and she could get him to dance. Here she took advantage of some live clarinet music at his nursing home to get Great Grandpa to dance with her and her monkey.

Valentines

The nursing home hosted a Valentine's Dinner for all the married couples. These two spent the last 11 years of my Father's life together and they felt blessed and were very much in love...even with dementia.

Humpty Dumpty Paul

Even with his diagnosis and progression, he did not lose his sense of humor. Here he went with the idea to mimick the vintage Easter Life Magazine cover...he had comfort in his Christian promise of healing and transformation with earthly death.

Special intergenerational connections

Even though this great granddaughter was born after his diagnosis, they always shared a special bond. Even when months would go between visits. They loved and accepted each other unconditionally. The photo frames allowed them to continue to be alive in each others' memories.

Father-son Alaskan cruise

He was very upset and agitated when he first had to enter Assisted Living and was very verbal about all the things that he would never get to do. The Alaskan cruise filled many needs...the wish to see Alaska, Father-son time, and a comfortable way to travel with someone and keep an eye out on someone with dementia. The photos in the photo frame help keep those moments alive and often served as a way for the nursing home staff and visitors to connect with him. It made family seem closer when they were states away with busy lives.

confusion

This was a frequent position "of comfort" when he was confused. It became a signal to caregivers to facilitate rest, or a simple explanation or redirection to activities of interest after hearing what his perception was.

the magic of cell phones

The cell phone proved to be a very valuable tool for helping him and our family cope. It allowed him to report what he saw and later when he was unable to operate it, it allowed caregivers a way to reconnect him with his family. Another way it can be used is to leave messages from family that say simple things like "sorry you were busy when we called. We just were calling to say we love you and we will call when we know the exact date that we will be there. Have fun today, we love you!"...or simply report an update on something interesting someone is doing, or have grandkids sing a song or read a poem or leave their own message.
Even in his final hours of life and when his language was gone, the facilitator could connect him with family and translate his reaction back to the other end. His eyes would get bright and in the very end when no staff member could get a reaction, the family facilitator would report a slight movement of his eyebrow. The bottom line...never underestimate the power of love and the simple reinforced messages.

pet therapy

He always enjoyed making cats puff and he learned to enjoy dogs. The therapy pets at the nursing home were very helpful with him and our family.

Activate all systems for support

You know plenty of Earth Angels so tap into your network and ask for what you need, utilize the Priniciples of Therapeutic Humor and the Star Theory of Radiant Health for caregivers and the person with dementia www.wellnessweavers.com And remember going home is a state of mind connected with the quantum physics of love.