Discuss & Plan Your Mom’s Alzheimer’s Care Needs

By Zandrea Durham | September 20, 2022 | Comments Off on Discuss & Plan Your Mom’s Alzheimer’s Care Needs

At last count, there were around 6.5 million Americans diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Almost three out of ten Alzheimer’s patients are younger than 75. Your mom is one of the millions, and you don’t know where to start. The most important step now is to breathe and be ready for anything. For some families, the disease may last upwards of 20 years. It can be a very slow-going disease where symptoms range from the forgetfulness and memory loss you know of to rage, anger, and violence that can take you by surprise. It may be time to consider hiring senior home care providers to help with the care of your mom.

Here are the plans you need to start making. The sooner you’re prepared for the different stages, the easier it can be to transition to the next step.

Get Paperwork and Legal Decisions Made Now

Senior Home Care Macon GA - Discuss & Plan Your Mom's Alzheimer's Care Needs
Senior Home Care Macon GA – Discuss & Plan Your Mom’s Alzheimer’s Care Needs

Before your mom’s memory is too bad to make legal decisions, it’s important to make them. She’ll want to choose people to make medical and financial decisions for her when she loses her decision-making skills. She should add someone she trusts to her accounts before she’s declared incompetent to do so.

If your mom hasn’t completed a will or set up a trust, she needs to. She also wants to complete her advance directives or living will. Work with an elder law attorney to make sure the paperwork that will help protect your mom is completed and filed correctly.

Seek Medical Expertise

Get your mom set up with an appointment with a neurologist and memory care team. Her PCP can help with general health issues, but she needs a memory care team to help with Alzheimer’s medications and the slow decline that will impact her behavior.

Keep Her Socially Active

Your mom may retreat and not want to socialize. It’s important to keep her as socially active as you can. The more she engages with others, the better it is at keeping her from slipping into depression. It also helps exercise her brain in terms of speech and reasoning skills.

Prepare Her Home and Hire Senior Home Care Providers

Get your mom’s home set up to keep her as safe as possible. Alarms on her doors and windows can help prevent her from wandering away. A fenced-in yard can help, especially if she likes to garden and wants to be able to go outside without going too far.

Put in security cameras that allow you to monitor her actions. You want to be able to check that she’s out of bed and showered, eating meals, and getting enough to drink. A clock that shows the day of the week, the month, or the season is also important.

Senior home care services help your mom with her daily care routines. She may need help once a week, every few days, or all day long. Talk to our senior home care specialist to come up with the best schedule and to book services.

Source: https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/facts-figures

If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Home Care Services in Macon GA please contact the caring staff at Angels of Mercy Private Homecare Services, Inc. today at 478-745-5111.

Angels of Mercy Private Homecare Services is a Trusted Home Care Agency serving Macon, Warner Robins, Perry, Gray, Milledgeville, Forsyth, Cochran, Jeffersonville, Eastman, Fort Valley, and the surrounding areas.

Zandrea Durham
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