Alzheimer's Daze

Today I spent at least an hour or more counseling Mr. Q about what is normal and what is not, in relation to what he was doing. It was a tough job and I will probably have to do the same thing many times over the next week or two and longer. Counseling is definitely not enough and won’t work in some cases, but I have to try. Mr. Q is a close relative of mine and I feel sorry about his condition. Not that I don’t feel sorry for the others we have here, but this brings it right down home.

I won’t elaborate here what the particular problems were, but will later be updating you on his status and more of his background. It will very likely be on a separate website I will be putting up just for that one purpose.

Background on Mr. Q:

We have an RCFE (Residential Care Facility for the Elderly). Three weeks ago we got a new resident, Mr. Q who came to California to live with us. He had dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It is sometimes a real challenge dealing with such people. Mr. Q is a real challenge. He has to have things his way, but his way is often confused. Therein lies the problem.

It’s a problem that keeps us occupied most of the day. Mr. Q likes to wander. In fact, he rarely sits still more than a few minutes at a time. When he gets up we have to watch what he does because he often does the wrong thing.