We want to make a difference in the Walnut Creek area. We believe there is nothing more important than for a person to receive the highest quality care to live a full independent life in the comfort of their home or a setting of their own choosing. Call us today! 925.203.3039
Every year, close to 800,000 people have a stroke. Of those, around 610,000 are first-time strokes. Close to 87 percent of strokes are ischemic strokes, meaning a clot blocks blood flow to the brain.
Your dad had a stroke. After talking to his medical team, you need to make plans as he cannot live alone without having others help him. It’s time to come up with a care plan that matches his needs.
Your dad will work with therapists to regain as much mobility as possible. He needs to work on the exercises that are recommended. What’s important to consider is that he may always need a walker, cane, or wheelchair. It’s hard to tell until he’s working with therapists.
His home may need to undergo some changes. If those changes aren’t possible, you may not have a choice other than to move him to a single-level home equipped with wider doors and hallways.
Bathing will be different after his stroke. If he cannot get in or out of the bathtub independently, he needs a home care provider there to help him. A shower seat that affixes to the wall or suctions to the tile or fiberglass floor is essential if he cannot stand for long. A walk-in tub or wheelchair-accessible shower can make it easier to bathe.
He may not be able to walk up and down the stairs. Look at the possibility of adding a power stairlift. If that’s not possible, moving him to the main level of the home is essential. He needs to have his bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and living area on the same level as the door he uses to get inside and outside of the home.
If there are stairs to the outside, a wheelchair ramp may be necessary to ensure he can get outside. This is why some families have to decide whether it’s better to stay in the current home or downsize to a single-level condo, apartment, or single-family home.
After a stroke, his doctor may tell your dad to cut salt from his diet. He needs to watch saturated fat, excessive amounts of sugar, and processed foods. He needs to embrace a whole diet that contains plenty of fiber, lean protein, and nutrients found in fresh fruits and vegetables.
After your dad’s stroke, his medical team may recommend he goes to a rehabilitation wing or facility to relearn some of his required skills like swallowing, moving his legs and arms, and speech. Sometimes, you can arrange to have physical, speech, and occupational therapists come to his home. He’s still going to need additional help.
Home care aides can help your dad with bathing, grooming, and personal care. They can assist him on the stairs and when getting in and out of bed. Have home care aides help with meals, housekeeping, laundry, and transportation, too. It enables you to focus on spending time with your dad without worrying about what needs to get done around the home.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/stroke/facts.htm
If you or an aging loved one is considering home care in Clayton, CA, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Walnut Creek. (925) 203-3039.
When you work, take care of your dad, and have your own home to manage, last-minute schedule changes are aggravating. You had an appointment scheduled on a day your brother had off, but now it has changed. Your brother can’t take the new day off, so you’ll have to bring your dad with you or find someone else.
As the stress builds, you are snapping at everyone. You don’t mean to, but the pressure is too much. It would help if everything went as planned, but life doesn’t always cooperate. What can you do to handle last-minute changes?
Before you panic, stop and take a few deep breaths. You can’t change everything, but you can lower your stress levels by breathing. If you’ve never tried yoga before, the breathing and stretches in that exercise and medication program will help you de-stress and relax.
Sometimes, you can reschedule. If the appointment is a quick blood test at your doctor’s, ask if it’s okay to put it off. Your doctor may recommend going to an office that’s closer or having a nurse come to your home for the blood draw. If that option presents itself, take your doctor up on it as long as you get the referral for your insurance.
Some appointments are too important to reschedule. If it’s a screening like a mammogram or a colonoscopy that took months to get, you need to keep it. In that case, it’s time to ask family members and close friends to help out.
Now that you’re a bit calmer, talk to others in your family. Explain the situation and see if anyone is free. It’s not always going to work out to your benefit, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. If someone is free, you’ve resolved your scheduling conflict.
What if no one can help you? It’s okay. Don’t take it out on them. Instead, start looking for local personal care at home agencies.
Don’t let the stress of last-minute changes get to you. Make arrangements to have trained caregivers stay with your dad while you take care of appointments, meetings, or whatever else is going on.
Focus on what you need to do and know your dad is in excellent hands with his personal care at home. Make arrangements and learn more about the cost of personal care at home by talking to a home care expert.
If you or an aging loved one is considering personal care at home in Concord, CA, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Walnut Creek. (925) 203-3039.
Providing love and care not only gives the patients suffering from dementia an assurance of being taken care of, but also provides peace of mind to their family. This enables the family members to spend more time to make memories with their loved ones in their final chapter of life. However, it is not at all easy to give proper care when your loved one is diagnosed with dementia. In dementia, resisting care and stubbornness are classic behaviors of the seniors- and these situations frequently get family members into hot water. Companion care at home can be an excellent survival tool for your senior and their family deal with the difficulties of dementia.
It is very important when handling a dementia patient to communicate in there way- not your way. There are several techniques for that which are discussed below.
Do not get involved in physical or verbal disagreements: Do not push, nag or yell at your loved ones, even though they are not in a logical state. It will only make things worse. Arguing can actually damage your relationship with your loved ones.
Consider preferences: Always try to be considerate about the choices of your loved ones and try to minimize the denying the agency of the patient whenever possible.
Communicate in simple terms: Try to ask simple questions and make simple statements. In dementia it is normal to lose your ability for verbal comprehension. So, keeping communication to small sentences and simple questions can make thing easier for your loved ones.
Focus on positives: As much as possible try to have positive conversations with your loved ones, so that the confidence of your senior can be maintained.
Listen: When your loved ones start talking then let them complete their thought, rather than interrupting them. Listening to the patients can be really helpful to ease their stress.
Empathetic behavior: Always act empathetically towards the patients. This will bond a new bond of trust and faith.
Consider companion care at home: Hiring professionals like companion care at home is a part of the process for the betterment of the situation for the patient- and for the family too.
It is very natural that a senior would feel most comfortable around their family and known caregivers. They even feel safe in a familiar environment that leads them to express every side of themselves – including frustrations. But in case of dementia, sometimes adverse situations are also likely to occur due to the extreme difficulty of the disease. Behavioral disorder is a very common phenomena in these cases.
Companion care at home can make a difference for you and your loved ones both. Your senior may be frustrated and clinically ill, but loss of their independence and restrictions of their day to day routine can make them fragile on the inside- which requires healing too. Companion care at home can help resolve these issues and give your senior the help and independence they need while dealing with a difficult disease. Call us today and see how companion care at home can help you today!
Sources:
https://newsinhealth.nih.gov/special-issues/seniors/dealing-dementia
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4032087/
If you or an aging loved one is considering companion care at home in Orinda, CA, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Walnut Creek. (925) 203-3039.
Many senior citizens have to go to the doctor quite a bit. They may have to see their primary care doctor once a year or more. If the elderly person has health problems, they may need to see a cardiologist, pulmonologist, allergist, or other types of doctors.
Do you often have to take your elderly loved one to their doctor’s appointments? If so, there are some tips on how to make their appointments more productive.
One of the best tips regarding your elderly loved one’s appointments with a doctor is to be prepared for all of them. When your elderly loved one needs an appointment, it might be best if you or a senior care provider makes it. This way, there will be no mix-ups with the date or time. You can make sure someone is able to drive them to and from their appointment. In addition, you or the in-home care providers can make sure your loved one’s insurance cards are available and the paperwork is filled out.
For some appointments, you may not have a lot of questions. However, there are going to be some doctor’s appointments for your elderly loved one that you have questions about. For example, what if your elderly loved one has to see a cardiologist after a heart attack? You are going to have questions about how to prevent another heart attack, what medications they need to take, and how to improve the health of their heart. Making a list of the questions you have can make things go smoother at the appointment. The list can also help to ensure you aren’t forgetting anything when going to the appointment.
It can be very helpful for you or an in-home care provider to attend doctor’s appointments with your elderly loved one. The reason for this is so someone is there to understand the treatment plan. Oftentimes, elderly people will go to their doctor’s appointments, but forget what the doctor told them by the time they get home. If you or a home care provider goes to the appointments, there won’t be confusion about the treatment plan.
Does your elderly loved one have a lot of doctor’s appointments? If so, the tips mentioned above can help to make those appointments more productive. In addition, if you follow through with those tips, you can help to ensure your loved one commits to their treatment plan.
Sources
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/doctors-appointments-tips-caregivers
There are hundreds of thousands of people who have Parkinson’s disease. While this disease can’t be cured right now, there are many treatments that can slow down its progression. There are also many ways to manage the symptoms of this disease. If your elderly loved one has Parkinson’s disease or you are worried they might get it, it can help to start learning more about the causes of this disease today.
About 15% of people who have Parkinson’s disease have a genetic mutation that causes it. This means they also have a sibling or a parent who has Parkinson’s disease. While not everyone who has a parent or sibling with this disease will get it, the risk significantly increases if they do. Professionals believe that the genes producing dopamine often have mutations in cases of Parkinson’s disease. The more mutations there are, the higher risk there is for the person to have Parkinson’s.
Research also shows that age and gender play a role in Parkinson’s disease. Generally, a person would not show symptoms of this disease until they are 60 or older. With this being said, the disease often develops in men before they are 50 years old. Studies have shown that men have almost double the risk of getting this disease than women. If you believe your elderly loved one has Parkinson’s disease, you or an elder care provider can get them tested by a doctor.
There are some environmental factors that may play a role in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, as well. If your elderly loved one had long-term exposure to harmful chemicals, this may have caused damages to the neurons in their brain. Some of the chemicals that may cause this issue include manganese, lead, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and trichloroethylene.
There are various things that can increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease. If you know that your elderly loved one falls into any of these categories, it might be best to have them see their doctor. You or an elder care provider should especially take your elderly loved one to the doctor if they are displaying signs of Parkinson’s disease. This may include weakened muscles, muscle twitching, or difficulty moving. If your elderly loved one gets a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, they may need elder care providers to provide regular care for them. The more the disease progresses, the more help your elderly loved one is going to need.
Sources
https://www.parkinson.org/Understanding-Parkinsons/Causes
Senior care at home is a great option for seniors that need some extra help but want to remain in their own homes. If you can’t be there for your parents around the clock having a caregiver helping your parents in their home will give you the peace of mind of knowing that someone is helping your parents with the activities of daily living. If you’re starting to look into home care for your aging loved ones here are some things that you should know about senior care at home:
It’s a common misconception that a home care provider is expensive. When compared to the costs of other forms of care, an in-home caregiver’s rates are very reasonable in most cases. And there are many different ways to pay for in home care for a senior parent. Your parent’s insurance may pay for senior care at home. Medicaid also may pay some or all of the cost of a home caregiver in some circumstances.
Senior care at home is customizable to meet your parent’s unique needs. You can work with a senior care specialist to develop an at home care plan that will provide your parent the support they need to thrive at home as they get older. And if their needs change over time their care plan can be updated to reflect their changing needs.
A home care provider does a lot more than just cook meals or clean. By providing companionship a home care worker keeps your parent or parents engaged and social. A caregiver can motivate your senior loved one to be more active, to eat better, and to get out of the house and be more social. Seniors have an increased risk of developing depression and being isolated is one of the factors that can cause a senior to develop depression. Having a friendly person to talk to is just as important for a senior’s good health as having healthy meals and getting exercise regularly.
If you’re taking care of a senior loved one a senior care giver can provide respite care so that you can take some time to focus on your own needs. Everyone needs a break sometimes, especially when you’re caring for your parents and taking care of your family and working. A friendly home care worker can give you a day off to run errands and take care of yourself or they can even come to stay with your parent when you need to travel for work or for any other reason. Respite care will give you the peace of mind of knowing that your loved one is safe at home.
The adult children of aging parents often feel guilty for thinking about hiring home care for their parents but senior care givers are a great solution that will help your parent or parents stay in their home safely as they get older.
Sources:
https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/depression-and-older-adults
The FTC surveys millions of people regarding fraud. The October 2019 survey found that 40 million adults were victims of at least one fraudulent activity. Older adults were less likely to admit it, but those that did admit to losing money tended to have lost the most money.
While all ages were at risk of being scammed, the survey found that older adults were more likely to fall for these scams.
Has your mom been caught in a scam? If so, she needs to report it. She can’t let embarrassment keep her from calling the police. If she hasn’t yet, scammers are out there. Make sure she knows these tips to prevent scams from happening to her.
Your mom cannot give any money or gift card numbers to someone who calls. The police, IRS, and other government agencies will never demand payment through gift cards. They’d also never require money to be packaged and sent to them using UPS or another courier service.
The grandparent scam is one of the easiest for grandparents to fall for. The scammer uses social media to find personal information, which makes the scam believable.
If your mom is the victim of a grandparent scam, she needs to hang up and call family members to verify that there really is an issue. Your mom must always be suspicious of a caller in this situation.
Call spoofing is a technique scammers use to get people to answer the phone. Instead of calling from a foreign or out-of-state number, they make it look like a local business is calling.
Make sure your mom is aware that call spoofing exists. When someone calls her, it may not be a legitimate call. If she gets a call from a local store that she’s never shopped from or been in, she shouldn’t answer the phone. If it is legitimate, they’ll call back.
Some older adults are more likely to pick up the phone. While younger generations tend to let unknown calls go to voicemail, older adults often feel obligated to answer. It goes back to common etiquette where you answered a ringing phone by the third ring and had to be engaging and polite.
Make sure your mom knows she doesn’t have to answer the phone. It’s acceptable to let the call go to voicemail and call back if it was a legitimate call. By doing that, she avoids calls from scammers.
If she answers the phone simply because she’s lonely and wants to hear another person’s voice, it’s time to talk about caregivers and companionship visits. Instead of talking to a stranger on the phone, she can talk to the caregiver who stops by.
With companionship visits, your mom has caregivers to engage with over movies, a game of cards, or a meal. Call a home care agency to schedule caregivers.
Sources:
https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/protecting-older-consumers-2019-2020-report-federal-trade-commission/p144400_protecting_older_adults_report_2020.pdf
June 23 is National Hydration Day, a holiday that serves as a reminder for all of us of how important it is to drink water and keep hydrated. This day falls on the first week of Summer, as it is even more crucial to keep hydrated during the hotter months. Reminder to our caregivers and clients, enjoy a glass of water together today. If you are not apart of Golden Heart family yet call us today to join! (925) 203-3039
Keeping your senior’s brain as healthy and as strong as possible can help her to avoid or to slow down cognitive changes that can lead later to issues like dementia. It’s important to eat a healthy diet, too, but some of these practical ideas can help your elderly family member to work her brain on a regular basis, which helps to keep it strong.
Stress takes a toll on your senior’s body and her brain. By reducing stressors in your elderly family member’s life wherever possible, you give her a chance to relax a bit. Talk to your senior about what causes her stress, whether that’s her health or other factors. Brainstorm together about possible solutions and work with your elderly family member to practice stress-relieving techniques like mindfulness practices.
The brain is like a muscle in a lot of ways. The more that your senior exercises her brain, the stronger it gets. That means feeding her brain new information and new ways of doing things. Find new hobbies or new activities that your elderly family member might enjoy trying and give them a shot. She may also enjoy taking classes or reading books and watching documentaries about subjects she’s always wanted to explore.
Your senior’s doctor may have recommended to her that she start exercising more and that is because exercise is an important part of keeping her physically and mentally as healthy as possible. Learning to do new movement activities is especially helpful for brain health, because your elderly family member is creating new neural pathways. Trying tai chi or yoga for the first time can be a challenge physically and mentally.
Social interactions also help with brain health, so if your elderly family member has started to withdraw or isolate herself, you may want to try to help her to find ways to interact more with other people. One answer is to help her to reach out to friends and family members in new ways, whether that’s writing letters or learning how to use video chat software. Having home care providers visiting regularly can also offer necessary companionship on top of other types of practical assistance.
Brain health is absolutely vital for your senior. Work with her doctor to find out what else might be beneficial for her specifically.
