Approximately 4.5 million Americans who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease live at home, where they receive home care from members of their family or friends. Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease affecting the brain and apart from lost of memory it progressively destroys people´s capacity to learn or prevents them from doing their daily tasks. So taking care of someone suffering from this disease can be quite challenging. As the disease progresses, and symptoms get worse, the time and energy required from the person taking care of the patient also increases.
The Memories to Treasure program provides people who care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s tips on caregiving and information about the disease, while helping them connect with their loved one through the art of scrapbooking.
The program “Memories to Treasure” gives useful information about Alzheimer´s disease and on how to caregive for those patients, it also helps the patient and caregiver to connect by creating scrapbooks.
The president of Memories to Treasure and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, Gail Hunt, said: “Alzheimer’s caregivers have unique needs; Memories to Treasure offers resources to help facilitate interaction with loved ones”. “Engaging in meaningful activities, such as scrapbooking, allows time spent together to be more positive and can benefit everyone involved.”
It is known that Alzheimer’s patients usually suffer from short-term memory loss, but they can remember memories from the past. Working on a scrapbook, and looking at old pictures or keepsakes can turn into a nice conversation being enjoyable for both, caregiver and patient in the home care environment.
M.D., director of the Alzheimer’s Disease & Memory Disorders Center, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Benjamin Seltzer says: “Activities, such as scrapbooking, can be beneficial for families facing Alzheimer’s disease”. “Engaging in meaningful activities with a loved one is only one facet of caregiving; however, it is also important to know that there are treatments available that can help slow symptoms of the disease.”
This program, Memories to Treasure, is available online at Memories to Treasure. In the Web site, people can find information about this disease, tips for people taking care of patients, a Memory Checklist, which will help guiding discussion with a doctor and obviously there is information about scrapbooking with a loved one suffering form Alzheimer´s disease.
To help you in provinding the best home care possible for someone facing Alzheimer´s disease, take into account these tips:
- Try to reassure the patient during tasks that can be a bit frustrating, such as, bathing, getting dressed or eating.
- When planning activities make sure to choose the best time of the day for the patient, so he or she can feel part of the activity.
- You need people to support you as well, let them know what you need and when you need them. Take time for yourself.
- Be well informed, so you can make decisions on treatments or care the patient might need.
Memories to Treasure is brought to the Alzheimer’s community by Eisai Inc. and Pfizer Inc, in partnership with the National Alliance for Caregiving and Creating Keepsakes scrapbook magazine. Dr. Seltzer’s participation in Memories to Treasure has been sponsored by Eisai and Pfizer.
