I took my Mom out to a Buffet and to Walmart to get her out and by my surprise I seen a sparkle in her eyes. However she notice the neighborhood that the bus was going through is where she had a house at and wanted to stop by the house. I'm wondering should I take her there, what if she goes in and wants to stay. I wish I know what to do right now I'm broken and confused I don't want to take her there if it do any harm to her and I want to if it would bring joy to her 😱😵😱😰just don't know what to do

My brother said he doesn't call my father because he doesn't know what to talk about. So I bought this workbook from The Alzheimers Store alzstore. It's called Gentlemen's Gatherings. It's a guide to stimulating discussions with topics favored by men of a certain age such as baseball, railroads, cars, camping, etc. My father enjoys talking about things from his past and there were good simple questions that jogged memories for him. I just let the conversation flow on it's own. We can probably use it again, as he will forget we did it before. Would be especially fun in a small group.

Maybe if each patient had a short history written about them by family members that the staff could read before interacting with the patient might be a way for the staff to see them more as the person they once were?

I enjoyed this article very much. It made me think of my mom and how I used to go down "memory lane" with her. I talked with her as if I were right there with her even before I was born. She liked to talk about her mother most of all. I found it easier to join her in her world than to try to get her to be in the present. She actually seemed less agitated when we were in the past. Sometimes she couldn't even remember a minute ago, but it was o.k. The next day we would go to the same place all over again. It was all worth it in order to have a nice visit with her instead of getting upset at seeing her waste away. It was definitely good for both of us. God bless anyone who is struggling with this ugly disease and all the caregivers. I pray that everyone can take a minute to smile, say something kind, or whatever (like you said, "It doesn't cost a dime") just to help make someone's day (or moment) nicer.

Dementia is a sad disease. My elderly Father has it, and is in a nursing home. He was such a different man before. My Dad was a hard worker and a good family man. He always provided for the family. He was in construction and brick laying until retirement. Then he and my Mom started making beautiful furniture. He would make it and my Mom would paint or stain it. They did many shows and had loyal customers. And then things started to change. Working around the power tools started to become dangerous. So he slowed down. But after awhile he needed to stop. This was hard on him because my Dad was aware of what was going on and it upset him. There customers missed them. Later on he started forgetting things and would get lost driving or get confused. My Mom had a hard time getting him to realize this. One time he got lost coming to my house. But he finally had to stop driving. When you take away someone's driving privileges you take away freedom. This happened to my Grandfather too, and when he had to stop driving he isolated himself. My Dads health over all is good, just the dementia is quickly destroying him. He never remembers who we are and usually can't remember my Mom, or anything else. Sometimes there will be these good days that he can relate some, only to have the next day be terrible. There are days he can be mean and physical with people. Most the time he does not talk anymore. I always wonder what is going on in his head at the moment. He will do some things repeatedly and talk to himself, I wish I could understand him but most of the time I can't. And sundowners is real and you can tell the difference when that starts. I visited yesterday and showed him pictures over and over and repeated certain things to him and he enjoyed it and wanted to see more pictures. Some times there are these sweet moments where he smiles and responds in some way and it is exciting. But I have learned not to confuse these times with an actual improvement. My Mom just reported to me that he had a horrible night and would not cooperate with anyone and was kind of mean. My Mom is a true angel and has such patience. So many residents here do not have family that visits them at all, it is sad. Dad I love you to the moon and back.

I miss my Mom- she was the most amazing, beautiful, funny woman I knew. She could do anything she put her mind too, so skilled, so stylish, so strong. When the dementia took her away over time, it broke my heart but I did everything I could just to see her smile again. She passed last year at 93 1/2 yrs of age, after five years of gradual decline. Before that, she was fine, so we were so fortunate really. This article is so superb. A moment of someone's time, to give our loved one's a brief return from the lonely cell their mind's have become.

I couldn't agree with you more! I was a Social Worker for Hospice and had the pleasure of visits which did just that, talk to the person, reminisce with them. I met amazing people and their families, although saddened, were so proud of who they were and what they had accomplished in life. Nurses would ask how I got them to respond to me??? Well, first you have to respond to them with whatever they need.