Merry Christmas

I just came from the Alzheimer’s offices. Its still October and 70 degrees outside. Yet my assignment was to write a blog about Christmas, but not the usual “folderol”.

The disease, Alzheimer’s, has been around year after year for more than 100 years. But ole friend Santa has been coming year after year for more years than Alzheimer’s. I have Alzheimer’s. Looking forward to Santa’s visit year after year never gets old. I’m 89 going on 90. I’ve seen good years and some not so great.

I still remember the stock market crash of 1929. I was 10 years old. Prior to the crash, Dad was Secretary-Treasurer of the Ford Motor Company in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After the crash he was unemployed for years. So was my mother.

Just before the 1929 depression I can recall the Christmas of 1926. It was a special Christmas to a lad of seven. I had asked Santa for a tool box, not the flimsy cardboard kind that little kids get, but the big “boxy” kind. A big one that would hold a hand saw, hammers, screw drivers and all kinds of stuff. You know the kind of tools a seven year old would need to build a dog house for my fox terrier friend “Pepper”. Pepper came as a puppy on my birthday in August of 1926. From August to December I kept bugging Dad for a tool box. Looking and looking. Hoping and hoping.

Early in December 1926 a letter came from the North Pole. It was addressed to my Dad “to the attention of John Childs”. I guess Santa thought a seven year old could not read, but I could. I was in the third grade at Sigsbee Street School. I was big enough to ride my bicycle to and from school crossing several busy streets all by myself!

Here’s the typed letter Santa wrote to Dad:

Dear Mr. Childs,

Your son John wants a tool chest for Christmas. I have looked all through my toys and I find, the tool chests which I have are all made for very small boys, and they would not do at all for him. I haven’t time to make one strong enough for him this year, and I thought that maybe you could help me out.

Why don’t you buy the lumber and nails and paint and make the chest yourself. Then if John is a very good boy, I may get him some tools to fit the chest. I am not really sure that I will bring his tools, because some boys are careless when they get tools and cut and pound things that they should not and also cut their hands. Anyway I am sure that John will be good enough so that I can bring him something.

You think it over about making the tool chest.

Merry Christmas,

Santa Claus (signed)

And sure enough Santa visited 605 Giddings Avenue, Grand Rapids, Michigan that 1926 year. I’ve seen a lot of Christmases since then, but that one still stays in my memory bank. On that Christmas morning, I even received a note from Santa. He wrote the following:
(hand written note)

Dear John,

I like your tool chest. I hope you will take good care of it and your tools. Don’t pound or cut anything you should not.

Lots of Love,

Santa Claus

And I wrote this note to my (Santa) Dad:
(hand written note - 12/25/26)

Daddy Dear

I love you. Thank you for making my tool chest. Merry Christmas.

John T. Childs

In reality that tool chest is a nice piece of furniture. It is 36” long x 20” high and 18” deep. It was painted red. Today the red has turned brownish. It is a coveted piece of furniture in our den. It has a special place at the end of our sofa and has been a conversation piece ever since its birth in 1926.

Lifting up the cover, I can show visitors the letters I wrote to Santa and his reply. They are pasted inside the cover and have turned yellow with age - 82 years old.

Each year we look forward to Christmas . . . .

And each year we look forward . . . . . . to a cure for Alzheimer’s.

Merry Christmas.

This blog was written by a man diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He will be 90 in ‘09.

Inside the Talking Donut

The good doctor said he needs to put a stint in my belly. Oh ya?? I’m not sure I should agree with his diagnosis. The good doctor said he found another blockage in my artery. A few weeks ago he removed a blockage in my left leg. He performed an Angioplasty. I spent the night in the hospital and went home the next day.

Now he tells me a have a blockage near my belly button. Quite odd I thought. But he showed pictures of the blockage and now I am a believer.

So, the first step in the procedure is to get a blood test at the Baton Rouge Clinic. Here I go walking into the waiting room. I saw a line of people the length of the room. I’m probably the 19th person in line. But the line moves fast. Some patients go to get a blood test; some go to get an x-ray. I’m scheduled for both.

I’ve been to the lab so many times I always ask for Mrs. Dorothy. She has been drawing blood for more than 12 years and is an expert. At least I think so. My 89 year old veins in both arms are small and hidden. So Mrs. Dorothy decided to draw the blood from the back of my left hand. She wrapped the wound in an ace gauze bandage.

While I am waiting for the doctor to read my blood sample, I am sitting in another small waiting room. Patients by the dozen go in and out of the x-ray-ray room. Jean went to the desk to check to see is the blood test had been lost. But alas it was not lost but in the line to be read.

Meanwhile, I went to the men’s room. Good thing because when I came back they told me I was next for the x-ray room. Three nurses surrounded me in the x-ray room. One asked questions, listened and the other recorded my responses. The third said she would be putting a needle in my arm and inject some medicine. She told me it might feel like you have to “go” but don’t! We do not want you to wet your pants. (Nor do I want to!!)

The x-ray machine was not like others I have seen. This one looked about 8” tall and had a sliding table that slid into a large hole in the donut. The apparatus reminded me of a donut. The nurse said the medicine was warm and she talked to me as she injected the medicine.

So, with me on my back and my hands over my head I slid into the talking donut. It said, “Hold your breath.” “Now breathe.” The message was repeated 5 or 6 times. Then the nurse said I could pull up my pants (they were down at my ankles) and go home. What a relief!

Great words -- “Go Home”. And do I did. Jean helped me to the car and off we went. “Home”.
A great place to be! A great place to be waiting for instruction regarding upcoming operation.

This blog was written by a man who has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s . He will be 90 in ‘09. He is a volunteer with Alzheimer’s Services.

CNNhealth.com

Click the link above to read tips on how to handle a situation when your loved one may not recognize you.

Doctor Visits

Taking the person you care for to the doctor is an important role as a caregiver, and planning ahead can lead to better care for the patient and less stress for you. Listed below is a checklist to help you make the right decision and aid in making the process go more smoothly.

1. Knowing when to take someone to the doctor. You should take someone to the doctor for regular check-ups if you notice any change in the persons health (both mental and physical), if the medications the persons are on are not working, and of course for any sudden injuries or illnesses.

2. Preparing for the appointment. Before going to the appointment try to help the person track the symptoms leading up to this doctors visit. Try to keep track of changes in eating habits, moods, and bodily functions. Assist in writing questions to ask the doctor, and then prioritize them in case the doctor doesn’t have time to answer all the questions. Schedule the appointment for the person’s best time of day, and remember to call and confirm the appointment.

3. What do you need to bring with you.
1. Insurance Cards
2. The person’s medical history
3. List of over-the-counter and prescribed medications and supplements
4. A health care directive (if the person has one)
5. A list of other health care providers the person is seeing
6. Paper and pencil to take notes
7. Necessary equipment like walkers, hearing aids, etc.
8. Calendar or datebook for scheduling follow-up visits.

4. During the appointment you can be very helpful. You should talk to the person about the role that they want you to take during the visit. Ask them how you can best help. Find out if the person would like to talk privately with the doctor or if they want you to be in there with them (this may not be an option if the person is suffering from memory loss). Encourage the person to talk honestly with the doctor about his or her symptoms.

5. If the person needs assistance you should go in with them in the appointment. Be sure to ask the doctor to clarify any confusing issues you may have, any side effects that may occur, and what you should do if there are complications.

6. You should talk to the doctor yourself if the person is too ill or suffers from memory loss or dementia. If you have questions about the treatment plan or follow-up options, or changes to expect in the person’s condition, you should also talk to the doctor yourself.

7. After the visit make sure to review your notes. Discuss the visit with the person being cared for, ask the person if they have any further questions, review any new prescriptions, put the next appointment on the calendar, call and ask for test results (if applicable), ask the doctors office to schedule an appointment with a specialist if needed, and finally do something nice for yourself. Taking care of the caregiver is important too!

Charlie's Place Article in the Advocate

Please click here to read the article written about Charlie's Place, the Alzheimer's Services Respite Center, that was featured on the front page of the People Section in Sunday's Advocate. The article was wonderful! The pictures were perfect!
Thank you, Debra Lemoine (Advocate Staff Writer) and Liz Condo (Advocate Photojournalist), who visited Charlie's Place a few weeks ago and captured what goes on at our Respite Center so that others in our community can see it as well. You have helped us create a great awareness of the programs and services we offer here at Alzheimer's Services!