One Experience

Sandy (not her real name) had been married for only four years before her father had died. The thought of her mother living alone depressed her, so much so, that she and her husband decided to have her mother come live with them. This story began thirty years ago.

Things were going well until Sandy started noticing some changes in her mother that led her to believe that she was developing a form of dementia. Unfortunately, her physician confirmed that her mother was developing Alzheimer's disease.

Needless to say, that was devastating news, but least her mother was living with her at the time, for that she was thankful. Sandy continued working even though she could see that her mother's dementia was progressing. As time passed, her mother's personality underwent many changes; she soon found it difficult to reason with her.

Because she felt that her mother's dementia was mild at the time, and she needed to work, Sandy decided to leave her mother at home, alone. She would lock the doors and check in on her whenever possible. At least her mother would be contained.

The concern for her mother's safety was what prompted Sandy to start looking into Adult Day Care Programs. Her mother had become belligerent when she found out Sandy was looking “to palm her off into someone else's care”. Torn by guilt at having to leave her mother at home alone while she worked, and her mother's belligerence, Sandy was beside herself.

That was when Sandy found “Senior Care of Brevard”. By the time she came to us, she was on the verge of a complete emotional breakdown. However, from the moment she walked in she felt there was something special about this particular adult day care center and it helped her feel more at ease with the decision making process concerning her mother's care.

After a while, Sandy noticed a change in her mother attitude, she had stopped fighting her when it was time to get out of bed in the morning and get ready to go to day care. Sandy said our day care had a “home-like” atmosphere that made her mother feel comfortable and the employees were kind and understanding to both her and her mother.

Now Sandy feels it is a pleasure to bring her mother in everyday. There are no more tears of despair when she drops her mother off, nor problems bringing her mother in every morning.

It is not safe leaving a dementia person at home alone, even if the doors are locked. We encourage everyone to seek other alternatives. This was a perfect example of how an adult day care program benefited both the caregiver and the client.

Specialists agree that the longer you are able to keep a person with dementia in a home environment, the slower the disease progresses. Those afflicted with dementia experience a sense of security when exposed to familiar surroundings and a family environment at a time when their world is becoming disoriented. Of course, this may not work for everyone, however, if it can for you, we encourage you give day care a try.

One of our suggestions to Sandy was to have someone come to her home to help her mother adjust to a new environment. Reflecting back on what Sandy told us, this one suggestion made her feel as though someone really did care about her needs . Now she and her husband are able to have some much needed quality time together.

Bringing her mother to day care has helped give Sandy a new perspective on life: her outlook for the future has improved, as has her self-esteem, and her work performance. She now has that “inner peace of mind” knowing that her mother is safe and receiving good care.

Our Outreach Program is specifically designed to work with the caregiver. The caregiver needs to know there is someone to help them deal with caring for a dementia affected loved one. We offer all our caregivers a contact number where someone is available to talk to them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week should the need arise. They can even call us if they just want someone to talk to. The needs of the caregiver are very important to us.

We know all too well, that each caregiver will experience an emotional roller coaster and that is why we are here to help them cope with this difficult time. Our Caregiver Director has a heart the size of the world and she has developed a wonderful program just for you, the caregiver. Please do not try to tackle his problem alone, there is someone that is willing to help AT NO COST TO YOU .

Call or drop by for a visit and find out for yourself about our program. I promise you, you will not be disappointed.