Today in Labor History June 21, 1982: John Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted assassination of U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1981. A Few years later (1990), Reagan was found not guilty by reason of dementia, when he said “I don’t recall,” 88 times during the Iran-Contra hearings, a rate of more than 10 per hour. (In 1994, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s). Hinkley said he tried to assassinate Reagan to impress actress Jody Foster, who had played Iris, a twelve-year-old prostitute in the film Taxi Driver. In that film, Robert DeNiro’s character, Travis Bickle, tries to assassinate the president. And from all this came one of the more amusing band names from the classic era of Hardcore Punk, JFA, or Jody Foster’s Army.
New to our family, sandwich rolls: lavash, mayo, lettuce, prosciutto, havarti cheese. I am trying to find foods Drew can eat since he is not using his left hand very often. Regular sandwiches are a mess since he can’t tell the strength of his grip in his right hand. A firm hold means the sandwich filling falls out. Same for burgers now. Yay for Trader Joe’s lavash - only $2.49 for a large package. 2 pieces for 8 rolls. And it worked well. #Lavash#Food#Wraps#Sandwich
PS Anyone else having trouble finding food that a person with #Dementia or #Alzheimer can eat, feeding themselves? Since my son is losing more and more dexterity due to declining, he still wants his favorite foods in the way he has always had them yet he really can't deal with using his hands much at the same time he needs a special larger, round spoon to eat. About 1/2 of his meals the caregiver has to finish by feeding him.
We had Neuro OT for him for almost 6 years until he started having too many hospitalizations. For insurance coverage he has to be “stable”. Neuro OT is specifically for those who have cognitive challenges as well as physical, so both brain and muscles are exercised. We don’t need adaptive dinnerware now but easy to eat and drink foods. As dementia progresses chewing and swallowing become more difficult. But he still is hungry like a hardworking man!#Dementia#Alzheimer
@mycrowgirl Yes! Both! And also any tips on strategies to coax eating more food when his brain gets tired and stops eating because it’s too much work. We learned if he stops using his spoon, to load it for him. Then if he stops again we offer to feed him. It’s clear he’s hungry but frustrated at the work to eat. I think I’m asking what every caregiver thinks about when seeing declines with #Dementia and #Alzheimer.
This whole situation is breaking him , the legal problems, the midnight posts and the way he is talking show this is too much for him and his age , here is a link to the post so you can read the Post-it notes
Here is a chart in my #memoir about my father's early-onset #Alzheimer's, written with #neurologist Dr. Bruce Miller, detailing the different kinds of #aphasia, where the "assault," as #doctors call it, first starts in the #brain, and the #diagnosis.
My sister and I are with my Mom and Dad for a long weekend. My Mom is going through the end-of-life transition with #Alzheimer's. She isn't eating, but she's managing to be busy with the help of nurses and family. We even helped her walk a little bit outside today. Dad has a hospital bed for her, and she is on meds to help her feel more comfortable. Nurses are here 24/7. Her awareness is pretty sharp even if she can't always communicate. We leave on Monday. 💔