Re: New to LBD

[Guest guest]

Joanne,

welcome to our family and i am sooo sorry you had to find us. but here you can

vent, scream cry, laugh, share stories, share uglies, ask questions, whatever,

no here judges you by anything as we all have either walked in your shoes, are

in yoru shoes or will be in your shoes. my name is sharon m from pensacola,

flordia, and my then fiance and i moved to pensacola from florida to take care

of my dad. my dad and iwere estranged for many years, but as an only child i

was the only here to take care of him, my mom and dad divorced in 1988 and had

they still been married my dad would have been placed in a nursing home many

years ago. as it was i kept him home as long as i could reasonably.

to answer your questions there is no time scale for lbd it changes at its own

pace, and is devasting to the caregiver and the lo (loved one ) a like.

first get all of the legal dcocuments in order, wills, power of atty, medical

directives, if tehy arent done get them done NOW!!!!!

then pat your self on the back 10 years cg (caregivers/ing) is a long time and

is emotionally draining to say the least. contact the doctor, ask if you can

have a hospcie consult, in many states they have changed the rules for those

that are in poor quality of life and to help care givers, also contact your

area council of aging, you may qualify for some programs there, also the office

of elder affaris. there are all type of goverment grants that are out there,

and thes organizations can help you get the hlep you need or maybe guide you to

someone/somehwere that can help you.

third use us, ask questions, dont be afraid, all topics are safe topics as

lbd causes are lo to react many peculiar qways, i call it dr jekyll mr hyde, or

sometimes they have showtime when to others they seem fine but when the company

leaves or the phone is hung up then they are back to what you see in them.

can you put him in a n adult daycare for when you work that may be an opitn

sometimes funded by elders affaris, or council of aging.

and most of all DONT FORGET YOU, take care of yourself, pamper yourself, lock

yourself in a bathroom and soak or whatever, you have to keep yourselfk healthy

physically and mentally to make it thru this ordeal,

and also you may have to break that promise, we did 4 months before my dad

died, as he fell and fractured his hip and had surgery, but went on a fast

decline after that. he died in a nh (nursing home) even though i promised him

he would be at home, i just couldnt even with all teh help i had keep him at

home trying to change him, clean him and everything with my own health failing.

good luck and hugs, sharon m

--

a smile a day, keeps the meanies away!!!!

---- joanne oneill wrote:

Hello. My name is Joanne, and my 79 year old step-father was diagnosed with LBD

yesterday. My mother died 10 years ago; Poppy was spending the day in a chair

with a gin bottle next to him, so, as I was single (sort of, anyway) I left my

apartment to stay with him until he got back on his feet. I figured it would be

about 6 months. I have lived with him for 10 years now, and as obvious as the

changes have been over the last 9 months, we are both devastated. I long time

ago, he asked me never to place him in a nursing home, and I said I would not.

It's still early, but I'm up and crying at 4 in the morning, wondering how I am

going to do this. I'm a teacher, and I have to work to support us. I have 13

years until retirement, and need every dime of my teacher's salary to support

us. What should I know? What should I ask the Doc?

How long will it be until he is incapacitated?

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