Re: Re: Hallucinations in LBD patients

[Guest guest]

Good morning , sorry to jump in but I was wondering.I usually try to

validate and redirect also but sometimes my moms hallucinations and dillusions

get her so upset that i dont know exactly how the best way is to deal with it.Do

you reccomend the same approach if she is really upset from the halucination or

dillusion?She has thought she was dying all night tonight and its been virtually

a sleeplass night.She will tell me things like love and take care of the dog

when she dies and get herself upset and cry and cry.How would you approach this

situation?Also she thinks if she falls asleep they will come and get her and put

her outside on the ground.A very upsetting night to say the least.Anyway without

the complete crazy rambling Ill ask more simply.If the los hallucinations and

dillusions are upsetting them a lot would you still reccomend this same

approach?Thanks in advance and to the entire group I just like to give my most

sincere best wishes

wrote: <snip> All I could do is ask him

who was playing and who won the game.

<snip>

That was the perfect response. That's what I would have done too.

Validate & Redirect is the best approach. Here's a great link about

that topic:

http://www.ec-online.net/Community/Activists/difficultbehaviors.htm

---------------------------------

Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder

tool.

[Guest guest]

,

Thank you for sending this quote from Validation Therapy. It's quite

interesting. I'm forwarding it on to others.

" "

<octoryrose@yahoo

.com> To

Sent by: LBDcaregivers

LBDcaregivers@yah cc

oogroups.com

Subject

Re: Hallucinations

09/06/2007 06:10 in LBD patients

AM

Please respond to

LBDcaregivers@yah

oogroups.com

<snip> Are there any recommended resources for learning about this

issue? <snip> If you google the name " Naomi Feil " you'll find many

websites, books, workshops, training, DVDs etc. on 'Validation

Therapy' which was developed by Naomi Feil.

<snip> Could some of this be his subconscious trying to work through

things that he hadn't prior in his life? <snip>

The following is from the book I recently recommended called " Dancing

with Rose " by Kessler:

" Suppose, Feil [Naomi Feil, see above] thought, caregivers (family

members or professionals) adjusted to the person with Alzheimer's

rather than trying to force the person to adjust to them? Supposed

caregivers tuned in to the reality being lived by the person with

Alzheimer's rather than trying to force another reality upon them?

Feil's approach, called validation therapy, is based on respect for

the end-of-life process. She believes that the elderly - both with or

without memory problems - want and need to return to their past as a

way of resolving life issues before they die. She sees living in the

past not as a symptom of brain disease but rather as a survival

technique. An older person returns to the past to relive the good

times and deal with the bad as a way of wrapping up loose ends, a way

of coming to closure and finding peace.

And so, you go where that person is going. You don't challange or

contradict or correct. You listen. You respond in a way that

encourages conversation. Feil's validation therapy is practical,

sensitive, intuitive -- and mind-bending. When you practice it, you

are not only keeping stress levels down and opening channels of

communication. You are not only respecting the dignity of the other

person. You are actually being forced to consider that a person with

Alzheimer's might be doing important life work right in front of you. "

......

Once again - a highly recommended book...

[Guest guest]

That was beautiful, Jacqui.

jacqui

<jacquiwa@wavecab

le.com> To

Sent by: LBDcaregivers

LBDcaregivers@yah cc

oogroups.com

Subject

Re: Re:

09/06/2007 11:03 Hallucinations in LBD patients

AM

Please respond to

LBDcaregivers@yah

oogroups.com

Thank you for posting this quote. I was already going to buy the book -

now I am not going to wait until next payday.

This is precisely the conclusion I reached about my mother. She had a

relationship of great conflict with her mother, having been treated as

the draft horse of the family, told how stupid she was, beaten and

sexually abused, and pulled out of school repeatedly to provide

caregiving for her mother who was on bed rest during multiple

pregnancies (most of which ended in stillbirths).

Even as an adult my grandmother was cruel. Mom went back and got her

GED after my sister and I completed community college (Momm was 48) and

then went to college to fulfill her lifelong dream of being a nurse.

She got her LPN and then her RN degrees - with a 4.0 GPA - while working

full time and keeping her house immaculate and the garden productive. I

don't know how she did it. My grandmother refused to go to Mom's

graduation and told her that " if she managed to still be a nurse in a

year or two, she'd see about getting her a graduation gift then. "

Nothing Mom did ever measured up or was worthy of praise to her mother.

Now, Mom calls me " Mom " and calls herself my daughter in her times of

confusion. These days it seldom happens, but it will again, I

know...and I welcome the opportunity to give my mother a loving

relationship with her mother. This is her chance to revisit the

childhood she steadfastly refused to remember when my sister sked her to

complete one of those " what happened when I was growing up " books to

fill out for her grandchildren. She said then that her childhood was so

painful she had no wish to remember it at all. Through me and what is

happening in her brain, she is rewriting her history. I know why, in

her delusions, she sees the world as a cruel and hard and cold place,

and I am using this as my opportunity to let her express emotions she

has kept stuffed inside for seven decades, and to respond to them with

love and acceptance and nurturing...and to be there for her in a way her

own mother was not, but which Mom so craved and gave her children many

times over.

I thought Mom would never accept living in the nursing home and sharing

her space, but she has become one of the residents the staff stops in to

visit AFTER their shift is over. One day when I was there to visit, no

less than three of them came by to see her after they were clocked out.

She receives affirmation from them, nurturing and kindness, and though

I wish I could have her home with me, in many ways this is something

necessary to heal her soul. She never felt " good enough " and never

believed anyone liked her just for her - only for what she did. Now,

she cannot " do " anything but be her - and she is learning that is enough.

There are many negatives about what Mom is experiencing, but there are

positives, too.

jacqui (in Puget Sound)

>Feil's approach, called validation therapy, is based on respect for

>the end-of-life process. She believes that the elderly - both with or

>without memory problems - want and need to return to their past as a

>way of resolving life issues before they die. She sees living in the

>past not as a symptom of brain disease but rather as a survival

>technique. An older person returns to the past to relive the good

>times and deal with the bad as a way of wrapping up loose ends, a way

>of coming to closure and finding peace.

>

[Guest guest]

Thank you for posting this quote. I was already going to buy the book -

now I am not going to wait until next payday.

This is precisely the conclusion I reached about my mother. She had a

relationship of great conflict with her mother, having been treated as

the draft horse of the family, told how stupid she was, beaten and

sexually abused, and pulled out of school repeatedly to provide

caregiving for her mother who was on bed rest during multiple

pregnancies (most of which ended in stillbirths).

Even as an adult my grandmother was cruel. Mom went back and got her

GED after my sister and I completed community college (Momm was 48) and

then went to college to fulfill her lifelong dream of being a nurse.

She got her LPN and then her RN degrees - with a 4.0 GPA - while working

full time and keeping her house immaculate and the garden productive. I

don't know how she did it. My grandmother refused to go to Mom's

graduation and told her that " if she managed to still be a nurse in a

year or two, she'd see about getting her a graduation gift then. "

Nothing Mom did ever measured up or was worthy of praise to her mother.

Now, Mom calls me " Mom " and calls herself my daughter in her times of

confusion. These days it seldom happens, but it will again, I

know...and I welcome the opportunity to give my mother a loving

relationship with her mother. This is her chance to revisit the

childhood she steadfastly refused to remember when my sister sked her to

complete one of those " what happened when I was growing up " books to

fill out for her grandchildren. She said then that her childhood was so

painful she had no wish to remember it at all. Through me and what is

happening in her brain, she is rewriting her history. I know why, in

her delusions, she sees the world as a cruel and hard and cold place,

and I am using this as my opportunity to let her express emotions she

has kept stuffed inside for seven decades, and to respond to them with

love and acceptance and nurturing...and to be there for her in a way her

own mother was not, but which Mom so craved and gave her children many

times over.

I thought Mom would never accept living in the nursing home and sharing

her space, but she has become one of the residents the staff stops in to

visit AFTER their shift is over. One day when I was there to visit, no

less than three of them came by to see her after they were clocked out.

She receives affirmation from them, nurturing and kindness, and though

I wish I could have her home with me, in many ways this is something

necessary to heal her soul. She never felt " good enough " and never

believed anyone liked her just for her - only for what she did. Now,

she cannot " do " anything but be her - and she is learning that is enough.

There are many negatives about what Mom is experiencing, but there are

positives, too.

jacqui (in Puget Sound)

>Feil's approach, called validation therapy, is based on respect for

>the end-of-life process. She believes that the elderly - both with or

>without memory problems - want and need to return to their past as a

>way of resolving life issues before they die. She sees living in the

>past not as a symptom of brain disease but rather as a survival

>technique. An older person returns to the past to relive the good

>times and deal with the bad as a way of wrapping up loose ends, a way

>of coming to closure and finding peace.

>

[Guest guest]

, what a splendid commentary on Validation. And, yes, you are so

right, that we must change and accept the person the way they are changing.

They

cannot change to fit us.

I believe I have mentioned this before, but there are many new Caregivers

that haven't heard it, and I want to validate your suggestions on Validating

what our LOs say.

Before we knew my mother had Dementia, I went to see her. I live in Texas.

She was in a nursing home in Florida. She was so glad to see me, and knew who

I was, but didn't always know my sister who cared for her.

She asked if my sons had come to Florida, also. I told her they couldn't

make the trip.

The next day she excitedly told me that she had seen them on TV. For a split

second I didn't know what to say, and then I realized that she wasn't right

in the head. I asked what type of program were they on? She elaborated about

the program, and how handsome my square faced boys were. I knew for sure then

that she was seeing things in her mind. My boys don't have square faces. Her

brothers do. So I told her that I wish I had seen them. And Then, she went

on about it some more. I was always glad that she knew who I was. It made me

so happy.

So yes, Validate. You won't be sorry. You will know you handled it right

later on.

Imogene

Caregiver for my true Texas Gentleman Husband of 36 years. He has LBD with

Parkinsonism.

A happy personality is contagious. Infect someone today.

In a message dated 9/6/2007 5:07:51 AM Central Daylight Time,

octoryrose@... writes:

<snip> Are there any recommended resources for learning about this

issue? <snip> If you google the name " Naomi Feil " you'll find many

websites, books, workshops, training, DVDs etc. on 'Validation

Therapy' which was developed by Naomi Feil.

<snip> Could some of this be his subconscious trying to work through

things that he hadn't prior in his life? <snip>

The following is from the book I recently recommended called " Dancing

with Rose " by Kessler:

" Suppose, Feil [Naomi Feil, see above] thought, caregivers (family

members or professionals) adjusted to the person with Alzheimer's

rather than trying to force the person to adjust to them? Supposed

caregivers tuned in to the reality being lived by the person with

Alzheimer's rather than trying to force another reality upon them?

Feil's approach, called validation therapy, is based on respect for

the end-of-life process. She believes that the elderly - both with or

without memory problems - want and need to return to their past as a

way of resolving life issues before they die. She sees living in the

past not as a symptom of brain disease but rather as a survival

technique. An older person returns to the past to relive the good

times and deal with the bad as a way of wrapping up loose ends, a way

of coming to closure and finding peace.

And so, you go where that person is going. You don't challange or

contradict or correct. You listen. You respond in a way that

encourages conversation. Feil's validation therapy is practical,

sensitive, intuitive -- and mind-bending. When you practice it, you

are not only keeping stress levels down and opening channels of

communication. You are not only respecting the dignity of the other

person. You are actually being forced to consider that a person with

Alzheimer's might be doing important life work right in front of you. "

.....

Once again - a highly recommended book...

************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at

http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

[Guest guest]

Ron, what a sad situation. I am so sorry. I would validate in a way, by

reassuring her, that you will take good care of the Dog. Dying? Whew! Again I

would reassure her, that you are right there, and she is safe with you.

I will be reading on further to see what has to say. That is a

tough call.

Love a bunch dear Ron,

Imogene

In a message dated 9/6/2007 5:43:55 AM Central Daylight Time,

dawgg4456@... writes:

Good morning , sorry to jump in but I was wondering.I usually try to

validate and redirect also but sometimes my moms hallucinations and

dillusions get her so upset that i dont know exactly how the best way is to

deal with

it.Do you reccomend the same approach if she is really upset from the

halucination or dillusion?She has thought she was dying all night tonight and

its

been virtually a sleeplass night.She will tell me things like love and take

care of the dog when she dies and get herself upset and cry and cry.How would

you approach this situation?Also she thinks if she falls asleep they will

come and get her and put her outside on the ground.A very upsetting night to

say

the least.Anyway without the complete crazy rambling Ill ask more simply.If

the los hallucinations and dillusions are upsetting them a lot would you

still reccomend this same approach?Thanks in advance and to the entire group I

just like to give my most sincere best wishes

************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at

http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

[Guest guest]

Beautiful, ! You coverd all the basis. Thanks for your answer to Ron.

Imogene

In a message dated 9/6/2007 6:25:12 AM Central Daylight Time,

octoryrose@... writes:

Personally I would... But in your instance I'd probably take less

time validating and more time redirecting... But validating is

necessary b/c she'll think she's being brushed off and continue and

continue until she's finally heard. You know? Validating in this

approach I'd validate by telling her that you're here to take care of

her and that you love her and that you'll take a day at a time to

make sure that you're caring for all her needs, etc. That you

understand how things can be scary for her and validate that what

she's feeling can be upsetting...

B/c your mom's hallucinations and delusion happen in the AM and

during the night - I bet she would be a great candidate for the

psychostimulants - like that post I mentioned from Dr. Boeve:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/LBDcaregivers/message/65263

I personally don't have experience with these meds (meaning mom) but

I feel that my mom would have been a good candidate...

I'd also suggest that now there are 2 doctors from MI in the medical

referral database that were suggested by Dr. Boeve - that if you're

looking for a LBD specialist to work with to go to these doctors:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/LBDcaregivers/database

(Doctors: Heidebrink and )

************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at

http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

[Guest guest]

Jacqui, what a beautiful letter. Heart breaking, but also beautiful in how

she is now finding peace and acceptance. Love you for sending it.

Imogene

In a message dated 9/6/2007 10:25:25 AM Central Daylight Time,

Normal@... writes:

Thank you for posting this quote. I was already going to buy the book -

now I am not going to wait until next payday.

This is precisely the conclusion I reached about my mother. She had a

relationship of great conflict with her mother, having been treated as

the draft horse of the family, told how stupid she was, beaten and

sexually abused, and pulled out of school repeatedly to provide

caregiving for her mother who was on bed rest during multiple

pregnancies (most of which ended in stillbirths).

Even as an adult my grandmother was cruel. Mom went back and got her

GED after my sister and I completed community college (Momm was 48) and

then went to college to fulfill her lifelong dream of being a nurse.

She got her LPN and then her RN degrees - with a 4.0 GPA - while working

full time and keeping her house immaculate and the garden productive. I

don't know how she did it. My grandmother refused to go to Mom's

graduation and told her that " if she managed to still be a nurse in a

year or two, she'd see about getting her a graduation gift then. "

Nothing Mom did ever measured up or was worthy of praise to her mother.

Now, Mom calls me " Mom " and calls herself my daughter in her times of

confusion. These days it seldom happens, but it will again, I

know...and I welcome the opportunity to give my mother a loving

relationship with her mother. This is her chance to revisit the

childhood she steadfastly refused to remember when my sister sked her to

complete one of those " what happened when I was growing up " books to

fill out for her grandchildren. She said then that her childhood was so

painful she had no wish to remember it at all. Through me and what is

happening in her brain, she is rewriting her history. I know why, in

her delusions, she sees the world as a cruel and hard and cold place,

and I am using this as my opportunity to let her express emotions she

has kept stuffed inside for seven decades, and to respond to them with

love and acceptance and nurturing...and to be there for her in a way her

own mother was not, but which Mom so craved and gave her children many

times over.

I thought Mom would never accept living in the nursing home and sharing

her space, but she has become one of the residents the staff stops in to

visit AFTER their shift is over. One day when I was there to visit, no

less than three of them came by to see her after they were clocked out.

She receives affirmation from them, nurturing and kindness, and though

I wish I could have her home with me, in many ways this is something

necessary to heal her soul. She never felt " good enough " and never

believed anyone liked her just for her - only for what she did. Now,

she cannot " do " anything but be her - and she is learning that is enough.

There are many negatives about what Mom is experiencing, but there are

positives, too.

jacqui (in Puget Sound)

************************************** Get a sneak peek of the all-new AOL at

http://discover.aol.com/memed/aolcom30tour

[Guest guest]

Makes one wonder if anything in her childhood could

have contributed to her LBD. Was your grandmother

that way with all her children, or was your mother the

only one? It's heartbreaking.

--- Normal@... wrote:

>

> That was beautiful, Jacqui.

>

>

>

>

>

> jacqui

>

> <jacquiwa@wavecab

>

> le.com>

> To

> Sent by:

> LBDcaregivers

> LBDcaregivers@yah

> cc

> oogroups.com

>

>

> Subject

> Re:

> Re:

> 09/06/2007 11:03

> Hallucinations in LBD patients

> AM

>

>

>

>

>

> Please respond to

>

> LBDcaregivers@yah

>

> oogroups.com

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> Thank you for posting this quote. I was already

> going to buy the book -

> now I am not going to wait until next payday.

>

> This is precisely the conclusion I reached about my

> mother. She had a

> relationship of great conflict with her mother,

> having been treated as

> the draft horse of the family, told how stupid she

> was, beaten and

> sexually abused, and pulled out of school repeatedly

> to provide

> caregiving for her mother who was on bed rest during

> multiple

> pregnancies (most of which ended in stillbirths).

>

> Even as an adult my grandmother was cruel. Mom went

> back and got her

> GED after my sister and I completed community

> college (Momm was 48) and

> then went to college to fulfill her lifelong dream

> of being a nurse.

> She got her LPN and then her RN degrees - with a 4.0

> GPA - while working

> full time and keeping her house immaculate and the

> garden productive. I

> don't know how she did it. My grandmother refused

> to go to Mom's

> graduation and told her that " if she managed to

> still be a nurse in a

> year or two, she'd see about getting her a

> graduation gift then. "

> Nothing Mom did ever measured up or was worthy of

> praise to her mother.

>

> Now, Mom calls me " Mom " and calls herself my

> daughter in her times of

> confusion. These days it seldom happens, but it

> will again, I

> know...and I welcome the opportunity to give my

> mother a loving

> relationship with her mother. This is her chance to

> revisit the

> childhood she steadfastly refused to remember when

> my sister sked her to

> complete one of those " what happened when I was

> growing up " books to

> fill out for her grandchildren. She said then that

> her childhood was so

> painful she had no wish to remember it at all.

> Through me and what is

> happening in her brain, she is rewriting her

> history. I know why, in

> her delusions, she sees the world as a cruel and

> hard and cold place,

> and I am using this as my opportunity to let her

> express emotions she

> has kept stuffed inside for seven decades, and to

> respond to them with

> love and acceptance and nurturing...and to be there

> for her in a way her

> own mother was not, but which Mom so craved and gave

> her children many

> times over.

>

> I thought Mom would never accept living in the

> nursing home and sharing

> her space, but she has become one of the residents

> the staff stops in to

> visit AFTER their shift is over. One day when I was

> there to visit, no

> less than three of them came by to see her after

> they were clocked out.

> She receives affirmation from them, nurturing and

> kindness, and though

> I wish I could have her home with me, in many ways

> this is something

> necessary to heal her soul. She never felt " good

> enough " and never

> believed anyone liked her just for her - only for

> what she did. Now,

> she cannot " do " anything but be her - and she is

> learning that is enough.

>

> There are many negatives about what Mom is

> experiencing, but there are

> positives, too.

>

> jacqui (in Puget Sound)

>

> >Feil's approach, called validation therapy, is

> based on respect for

> >the end-of-life process. She believes that the

> elderly - both with or

> >without memory problems - want and need to return

> to their past as a

> >way of resolving life issues before they die. She

> sees living in the

> >past not as a symptom of brain disease but rather

> as a survival

> >technique. An older person returns to the past to

> relive the good

> >times and deal with the bad as a way of wrapping up

> loose ends, a way

> >of coming to closure and finding peace.

> >

>

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

> removed]

>

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

Boardwalk for $500? In 2007? Ha! Play Monopoly Here and Now (it's updated for

today's economy) at Yahoo! Games.

http://get.games.yahoo.com/proddesc?gamekey=monopolyherenow

[Guest guest]

June Christensen wrote:

>Makes one wonder if anything in her childhood could

>have contributed to her LBD. Was your grandmother

>that way with all her children, or was your mother the

>only one? It's heartbreaking.

>

>

Mom grew up on farms, exposed to agricultural chemicals. She worked in

the cannery and she worked during WW2 in a shipyard as a welder. She

was exposed to chemicals that I believe are contributory to her LBD.

My grandmother was only that way with my mom. The oldest of them, one

aunt, was " the smart one, " my uncle was the only boy, and the youngest

aunt was the baby and " the princess. " My grandfather was a very strict

man who beat my mom daily with a razor strop for her perceived sins and

those of her siblings (I guess because she should have kept them from

doing whatever it was). She was the only child expected to do outdoor

chores because the others had " more important things to do. " Mom was

known to extended family and her siblings as " the pretty one, " and it

got her sexually abused by my grandfather with my grandmother turning a

blind eye.

It is heartbreaking. One thing that amazes me still is how my mother,

with such poor role models as parents, was able to be such a good parent

to her own four children, especially since two (my sister and oldest

brother) have been diagnosed as adults with Asperger's (high functioning

autism). My other brother had some kind of issues that kept him in

trouble constantly in school. Oh, and Dad was an enlisted man in the

Navy, so money was scarce and Dad was gone to sea for nine months at a time.

Mom's story is a remarkable one. I never thought it would end this way.

jacqui (in Puget Sound)

[Guest guest]

Sounds as if she was a remarkable woman, especially

after her own childhood. You were lucky to have her

as a mother, and she as you for her daughter. What a

way to end an already sad life (at least part of it).

I'm sure she was happy with raising her own children.

--- jacqui wrote:

> June Christensen wrote:

>

> >Makes one wonder if anything in her childhood could

> >have contributed to her LBD. Was your grandmother

> >that way with all her children, or was your mother

> the

> >only one? It's heartbreaking.

> >

> >

>

> Mom grew up on farms, exposed to agricultural

> chemicals. She worked in

> the cannery and she worked during WW2 in a shipyard

> as a welder. She

> was exposed to chemicals that I believe are

> contributory to her LBD.

>

> My grandmother was only that way with my mom. The

> oldest of them, one

> aunt, was " the smart one, " my uncle was the only

> boy, and the youngest

> aunt was the baby and " the princess. " My

> grandfather was a very strict

> man who beat my mom daily with a razor strop for her

> perceived sins and

> those of her siblings (I guess because she should

> have kept them from

> doing whatever it was). She was the only child

> expected to do outdoor

> chores because the others had " more important things

> to do. " Mom was

> known to extended family and her siblings as " the

> pretty one, " and it

> got her sexually abused by my grandfather with my

> grandmother turning a

> blind eye.

>

> It is heartbreaking. One thing that amazes me still

> is how my mother,

> with such poor role models as parents, was able to

> be such a good parent

> to her own four children, especially since two (my

> sister and oldest

> brother) have been diagnosed as adults with

> Asperger's (high functioning

> autism). My other brother had some kind of issues

> that kept him in

> trouble constantly in school. Oh, and Dad was an

> enlisted man in the

> Navy, so money was scarce and Dad was gone to sea

> for nine months at a time.

>

> Mom's story is a remarkable one. I never thought it

> would end this way.

>

> jacqui (in Puget Sound)

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

Choose the right car based on your needs. Check out Yahoo! Autos new Car Finder

tool.

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[Guest guest]

Jacqui,

It pains me to read about all the hardships your mother went through. Thank God

she has you in her corner. You have been such an excellent daughter to her and

a wonderful soul who can see the pain of the past and is determined to make the

present and future better for your mom even with LBD.

Hugs to you and your mom.

Courage

[Guest guest]

kathy

teh lbd roller coaster ride really doesnt ahve a time frame, and you really just

have ot play along as best as you can, my dads hallucinations went from scary

from beig in teh military during hte cold war era to calming and animals coming

ot him for love and affectin. when dad was reliving all teh hostilitsy htat he

was taught during teh cold war it was awful. he would be so haterufl and ugly

that i just wanted to run as faf awawy as i could. then other time he was so

scaring and loving that i was shocked. he 'found ' a hurt kitten, with a badly

damaged back leg, he thought it was hit by a car, he was upset it was mewing in

pain, he said please take it to the vet adn have it ptut ot sleep, he wouldnt be

ahppy until i took this kitten, and i drove around for a 1/2 hour went to vet

and picked up some heartworm medicines for m y dogs this way i had a recipt from

the vet daddy couldnt read very well by this point. i told daddy i held the

kitten uhtil he went to sleep and he cried adn i creid with him. 2 hours later

he forgot all about it.l but taht was how i dealt with it, thank goodness donnie

was home otherwise i couldnt leave daddy by himslef. other times he heard kids

playing and he wanted to sleep so i said let me go aske the kids to play on teh

otehr side of the house so you can sleep and he said ok, so i went outside and

'talked to teh tkids' and daddy say me outside adn he felt better. it is justa

matter of palying along however it takes to calm him down. either way not easy

but still neeedds to be done, just do the best you can. good luck adn hugs,

shasron ---- K wrote:

Hello all, I have read here a long time but rarely post. This topic on

hallucinations has me posting today though. My father, who lives with me, has

been seeing things for years. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's 10 years ago.

His dementia is yet unnamed and I am unsure as to how long he has been wacky.

He has only been with me for a year. Anyway, his dementia and hallucinations

have worsened in just the last few days. I think he is starting to sundown as

well. He has been talking to people in his closet and he thinks they are taking

his jackets and giving them away. He thinks he is at a racetrack and will come

out and want to know which door to go out of to leave the venue to get back

home. Yesterday he was talking in his room and when I went to get him for lunch

he wanted to know if I wanted to take my brother and his kids up to the corner

to get hamburgers. Last night as I was turning his bed down he wanted to know

when he was going to get out of here and

where was he going to sleep. When I told him he was here and this was his bed

he just did not understand. The look on his face has changed over the last few

days. He looks lost. He also has lost the ability to work his belt on his

pants. He could not figure out how to put his shoe on yesterday. And when I

asked him to get his shoe on he picked up a paper towel and said this is only

half..... Those of you that are ahead of me in this dementia game, can you tell

me how long this can go on? My husband and I want to keep dad as long as

possible but this is becoming rather painful and stressfull. I know we never

know when we will be called home but if I had some idea... Surely this can't go

on for years... Can it? Thank you, Kathy

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