The more I research and follow those who are becoming experts at all things dementia, the more I realize we can ALL do something about preventing, treating, and even reversing many of the worst symptoms.  There is a lot of information and sometimes it feels overwhelming by the data and the different voices but there is a bottom line to all of this. Our parents and especially our great grand parents had lifestyles that were naturally more suitable to their brain care.  We are the generation that has access to so much processed food, and our daily pace can tempt us when we don't have a plan in place to take care of our brains in all the following ways: 

• What you EAT matters: anti-inflamatory foods are best and foods most whole and natural. 
• SUPPLEMENTS help maximize nutrition with what we need everyday regardless.  
• Reduce and prevent STRESS with an intentional lifestyle
• BREATH consciously,  increase oxygen, expel toxins and help to relax and stay calm   
• Exercise to keep MOVING which improves cognitive condition and doesn't require a trip to the gym. 
• Get comfortable SUN exposure (hard to do in northern winters) or take Vitamin D and sit under a grow lamp. 
• Keep your MIND active and stimulated, but CALM  with good conversation, reading, puzzles, chores and hobbies.
• Last but not least is to get enough good SLEEP by reducing the amount of blue screen time before bed time.

I have become more intentional, scheduled, and following a routine to give myself the best chances of preventing, or at least slowing down cognitive impairment.  At the same time I don't want to be relisous about it or obsess to the point of worrying about every little thing! 

I think when you get the information through good research and education, you can then apply what's being recommended to your lifestyle and make it work without becoming stressful over all these things.  Having a good sense of humor goes a long way and don't sweat the small stuff.  Life at our age is getting shorter so we can't afford any time being offended, angry, worrying, or taking on what we used to twenty years ago.  

I go slower and more methodically.  I give myself more time to leave the house, drive the car safely, and show up early to get the best parking spot without a handicap tag!  I do as much as I can that I'm enjoying with the level of energy I have on any given day.  I have friends who are 100% focused on just self care but even at that are living the most actrive and energetic lives they can. Zoom and FaceTime helps to stay in touch with friends and family.  More deliveries can be made from online or phone in orders.  These limit time away from home if it's ice on sidewalks, or slippery on snow. 

It all helps to use self discipline to avoid too much sugar, carbs, and dairy by preparing and having on hand a lot of the foods that are more healthy and especially those that contribute to good brain care nutritionally. 

One of the main reasons we kept our parents together in our managed care was because of the reports from nursing homes and senior facilities.  You've heard about how protective animals are of their young.  We felt like that about our parents.  Once dementia struck it was even more critical that neither of our parents would ever have to face or deal with abuse.  

You can see from this chard that ove than half of all abuse stems from neglect.  The animal shelter people know this all too well.  When we had occasion to call an ambulance the EMS personnel commented on the number of seniors they attend who are living at home in appalling conditions.  We experienced social workers coming up to us before discharging our parents from short hospital stays to confirm that they had decent care.  

Other arrangements are often made and a senior won't even go back to the home they were picked up in by the ambulance.  Can you imagine that?  Can you imagine the level of trauma, stress, confusion, concern and even more if that senior has pets?  We just didn't ever want our parents to experience anything like that.  

Once we had nurses hired to help us with our Self Managed Care Funding we heard the stories of the abuse that went on witnessed first hand by these nurses in facilities.  We could understand that dementia can cause difficult attitudes and uncooperative behavior. This usually has to be evidenced before serious medication is administered.  

Some behaviors lead to assault of a caregiver by the resident because of confusion especially when trying to help in a physical way where normal privacy is invaded.  In my book I take time to mention that sometimes what is being chalked up to dementia, is just a normal reaction which any of us would exhibit if treated the same way.   

It's not easy to manage the care of people with dementia and like small children who aren't safe to be left alone, you sometimes find out the hard way, what needs to be put in place for their safety and your sanity. My confession is that I often scolded my Dad for how he treated Mom and ran to his bedside as he lay in palliative care to ask his forgiveness.  His last words to me were, "I forgive you!" ​

With everything that happened in 2020 affecting the elderly the most, we saw news feeds of families not allowed to visit their parents or grand parents in facilities locked down.  We witnessed tears of adult children knowing their parents were sick or dying and they couldn't be there to comfort, hold their hands, or hear their last words.
This may be the year you take a closer look at how to care for your parents when they aren't safe to be left alone and can't live independently. 

If you wonder why you would do that, ask yourself these questions:
How did your parents 'pay it forward' for you?
What do you have today because of your parents?
What did your parents invest in you or for you, that makes you special, unique, and  grateful?  
What they've paid forward you can pay back and begin this year.  One example from our experience. 
​ 
​Our parents took us on trips.  They 'dragged us around from "pillar to post" as my mother sometimes said. Some travel was when we moved overseas with their work, but many short jaunts were just for a drive or a picnic. Mom and Dad loved an adventure which is what they made every time they needed us kids to cooperate and get excited about another move or chore.  When we had the total care of their lives, It became the pleasure of our family to do as many things for them as they had done for us. This included some short trips.

To be honest, when dementia strikes, they may not remember the things you are doing, but your joy at the prospects and memories of  your childhood creates an atmosphere they can still feel in their hearts. Every time you venture out, you will be comparing what they are enjoying to what they wouldn't be doing in a facility.  And especially not with you, their beloved child rather than an employee or contract worker. 

Three reasons why I was so committed to managing the full time care of our parents the last five years of their life were because:

1. They modelled a life of care-giving for others. They practised what they preached. We gave out as a family into the community.  They had servant hearts as respected leaders in everything they did. They were extremely hospitable and helped many sacrificially.  They deserved the kind of care they gave  
2. They made huge sacrifices for us kids, which we didn't value until we were adults and parents ourselves. One example is paying for me to have piano lessons, buying me a little accordion, and making sure we always had a piano.  Any compliments about my playing all go back to the advantage they gave me. 
3. I was a very rebellious child and not a very good daughter.  I fell short of their ambitions and expectations for me in many ways.  They still loved me and were very patient.  They were always happy to see me and took an interest in my life as much as they could. Managing their care gave me an opportunity to make it up to them.  

These may not be the exact reasons you want to find out if you CAN or WANT to do what we did. But many more adult children are worrying about their parents. Unfortunately our lives and routines get on a track and it isn't until there's a crisis with one or both of our parents that we have to stop and decide how this is going to affect our lives, if at all. 

One reason I offered to become the Enduring Power of Attorney early on was because I was an associate for Legal Shield (formerly Pre Paid Legal).  One of the services offered and stories shared amongst associates was about the importance of having legal documents in place, especially if dementia was a factor in elder care.  If you are interested in an affordable Legal Plan check the one from Legal Shield. 

Dr. Natali Edmonds offers good information in a video: Dementia and Power of Attorney: Medical and Financial Power of Attorney for Dementia.  By ensuring that your parents have legal things in place while they are mentally fit to sign the documents, you or someone they trust, are in place.  In our case, we put this in place early 1992 but it wasn't until early 2006 that it became necessary to take over more and more aspects of their lives.  

We didn't know the level of dementia that was preventing them to live independently, even in assisted living. The six month stay there alerted us to make the changes we did to keep them together.  The details are in my book, Done With Dementia: Keeping Your Parents Together.  Please begin to pay back your parents by at least beginning discussions and researching who in the family CAN and WANTS to take this loving responsibility.  Be the hero in your family.  Get more done in '21.  Happy New Year.