Ella is 83 old and lives in aged care .her eyesight deteriorating, resulting her walking into furniture and she recently developed arthritis her hands.she loves read books and loved to do crossed newspaper.she is also avid knitter.
An anti-inflammatory diet might help her. Natural fats from meat, fish oil, dairy (butter, full-fat cheeses), coconut oil and olive oil are anti-inflammatory. Carbohydrates (sugars and starches) are inflammatory. If she could drastically reduce her carbohydrates and increase her fats, that would probably improve her arthritis and might also help her eyes. Many nutrients, such as vitamin A (known to help the eyes) need fats for absorption.
Pinhole glasses might help her see better. She would need bright lights to use them. Pinhole glasses have opaque black plastic lenses with small holes in. You can find them on Amazon. They are not very expensive.
Massaging her hands and fingers with a natural oil, such as organic peanut oil, would help stimulate circulation and might help her use her hands.
Gether a jewelers cap that slips on her head so she can see better. I have used this with other patients with great success. It is not expensive. It goes around the top of one's head & is kind of like a sun visor. At 83, I would simply provider her with ANYTHING that brings joy to her. It is a little late in the process to start to change a diet, I believe, as a health care provider. Suffering from arthritis myself, I believe I would smack anyone who tried to massage my hands with anything. Keeping the hands moving is a good thing...I can't open a jar but I still can play the guitar. (food for thought?)
Keep those hands working! Any activity EVEN THOUGH IT HURTS is great for arthritis. A non red meat diet will also help. Taking too many anti inflammatory meds can be harmful so limit their use. Exercise is best, lots of water, and too much of an acid environment (fruits) will tend to make joints stiffer. Keep moving though even if she is sitting.
Audio books would be nice. Kindle has them. On the Fire a lot of regular books can be audio. Agree, keep knitting. See if her room can be opened up by putting furniture out of the way. A cane may help her get around.
When it comes to diet, she is at the mercy of the facility she lives in.
Ditto the anti-inflammatory diet. Do some research and you'll learn about the foods that are anti-inflammatories - they're not exotic foods and can easily be integrated into a diet.
I'm in my 70's and can always tell when I've accidentally (those bad foods just jump into my mouth!) eaten something that's high in inflammatory ingredients.
When the arthritis in my hands creates morning stiffness, I play a few imaginary songs before I get up. Piano scales are good for loosening up my fingers, although the left hand is still stiffer than my right hand. I doubt that will change.
I also found that salmon oil tablets were more effective for knee stiffness and knee pain than other oils.
Can Ella's eyesight be corrected with glasses, or does she have macular degeneration? Bumping into furniture concerns me as she could easily fall after such a collision. I agree with JoAnn - move furniture out of the way, but create such an arrangement that if she does fall, it's likely she could fall onto something soft.
This may be just a high-tech fantasy, but there may even be some little devices that emit warnings if someone comes too close. I haven't researched this; it's just a thought. It could also be too noisy though. I was trying to think of something type of warning if Ella comes too close to bumping into furniture.
Perhaps she could do crossword puzzles with a friend who can read the questions to her. That's what I do for my father, although it's not because of his eyesight, which is better than mine.
The Country and Country Extra magazines might be an alternative to reading novels - they're primarily beautiful, soothing and very relaxing photos.
Use music therapy inbetween books on tape (available through libraries as I understand) to help relax and avoid some of the stress and anxiety that could build up as her senses decline.
Knitting could still be continued if she's an experienced knitter who knits by feel and less by sight. However, there are reading lamps and other low vision accessories that you could get to help her continue knitting. It might also be helpful though to take breaks and just listen to music after using her eyes, because of the strain that may arise given her declining vision.
Does the facility have a book club? It's a great way for avid readers to get together and discuss various forms of fiction and/or nonfiction, and it's a social event as well.
If the facility also has pet therapy, make sure she's involved. As her senses deteriorate, it will help compensate by adding a positive aspect to her life.
I was surprised to learn that Michigan has a commission on blindness. Check with the state Ella's in and see if it has any facilities or agencies that can offer assistive devices, such as magnifying glasses, etc.
As a former in-home care giver my intention was always to do whatever possible to support the lifestyle that my 'caree' had known in past in the safest and most loving manner possible. As parents/elders age their skills levels reverse eventually returning them to infancy, but at same time their lifelong interests and passions remain the same. Losing sight can be frightening, so assuring safety comes first i.e.removing obstacles that one can trip on or bump into, guiding someone verbally (we're coming up to a step) and reassuring someone that it's o.k. to ask for help or assistance are very important. As to activities, if someone loved to read, local libraries are a wealth of free material that can satisfy that need. Most libraries have a large print section and many libraries have programs that will drop off and pick up on a weekly or monthly basis books they've selected by subject matter for the client. Magazines are a great source of pictures-nature, gardening, travel magazine were some of my clients favorites. This create a great opportunity for discussion about someones past that most older folks loved sharing. I've used Scrabble tiles to create word games that those who liked crossword puzzles. For those who were crafty and loved to sew using very large knitting needles was a favorite. Children's toy wooden stringing beads were appropriate for some, but not all as some are offended by child like activities. Everyone is different, so asking what is preferred always a good idea. When sight is completely lost, reading to someone can be a wonderful activity. Many I worked with wanted to be read chapters from the Bible or other religious or inspirational texts. Creating a regular time to do this, i.e. once a week, daily after breakfast, can give someone something to look forward. Of course, this all needs to be offered in a loving spirit that honors the wishes and dignity of 'caree'. Sometimes a little humurous encouragement is needed to assure someone that they are not putting you to any trouble. Women especially have been caregivers their entire lives and having those roles reversed can be a bit uncomfortable, so I would remind them that they have done this and that now it is their time to receive. And yes, connecting with Council on Blindness and all of other suggestions mentioned above are worth looking into. I love that you are so caring about Ella and reaching out to this great site. She is indeed blessed to have you in her life!
The Foundation for the Blind will deliver free of charge a tape player and a book of all the choices that you have for books on tape and many other items on tape. This costs nothing and there are self addressed and postaged envelopes to mail these back. It is an amazing service.
An anti-inflammatory diet might help her. Natural fats from meat, fish oil, dairy (butter, full-fat cheeses), coconut oil and olive oil are anti-inflammatory. Carbohydrates (sugars and starches) are inflammatory. If she could drastically reduce her carbohydrates and increase her fats, that would probably improve her arthritis and might also help her eyes. Many nutrients, such as vitamin A (known to help the eyes) need fats for absorption.
Pinhole glasses might help her see better. She would need bright lights to use them. Pinhole glasses have opaque black plastic lenses with small holes in. You can find them on Amazon. They are not very expensive.
Massaging her hands and fingers with a natural oil, such as organic peanut oil, would help stimulate circulation and might help her use her hands.
Thank you for trying to help this elder.
At 83, I would simply provider her with ANYTHING that brings joy to her. It is a little late in the process to start to change a diet, I believe, as a health care provider.
Suffering from arthritis myself, I believe I would smack anyone who tried to massage my hands with anything. Keeping the hands moving is a good thing...I can't open a jar but I still can play the guitar. (food for thought?)
When it comes to diet, she is at the mercy of the facility she lives in.
I'm in my 70's and can always tell when I've accidentally (those bad foods just jump into my mouth!) eaten something that's high in inflammatory ingredients.
When the arthritis in my hands creates morning stiffness, I play a few imaginary songs before I get up. Piano scales are good for loosening up my fingers, although the left hand is still stiffer than my right hand. I doubt that will change.
I also found that salmon oil tablets were more effective for knee stiffness and knee pain than other oils.
Can Ella's eyesight be corrected with glasses, or does she have macular degeneration? Bumping into furniture concerns me as she could easily fall after such a collision. I agree with JoAnn - move furniture out of the way, but create such an arrangement that if she does fall, it's likely she could fall onto something soft.
This may be just a high-tech fantasy, but there may even be some little devices that emit warnings if someone comes too close. I haven't researched this; it's just a thought. It could also be too noisy though. I was trying to think of something type of warning if Ella comes too close to bumping into furniture.
Perhaps she could do crossword puzzles with a friend who can read the questions to her. That's what I do for my father, although it's not because of his eyesight, which is better than mine.
The Country and Country Extra magazines might be an alternative to reading novels - they're primarily beautiful, soothing and very relaxing photos.
Use music therapy inbetween books on tape (available through libraries as I understand) to help relax and avoid some of the stress and anxiety that could build up as her senses decline.
Knitting could still be continued if she's an experienced knitter who knits by feel and less by sight. However, there are reading lamps and other low vision accessories that you could get to help her continue knitting. It might also be helpful though to take breaks and just listen to music after using her eyes, because of the strain that may arise given her declining vision.
Does the facility have a book club? It's a great way for avid readers to get together and discuss various forms of fiction and/or nonfiction, and it's a social event as well.
If the facility also has pet therapy, make sure she's involved. As her senses deteriorate, it will help compensate by adding a positive aspect to her life.
I was surprised to learn that Michigan has a commission on blindness. Check with the state Ella's in and see if it has any facilities or agencies that can offer assistive devices, such as magnifying glasses, etc.
This costs nothing and there are self addressed and postaged envelopes to mail these back. It is an amazing service.