Dementia

Today, I met a beautiful lady named Janine. She was sitting there by herself with tissue in her hand. I went up to say hello and introduce myself she took my hand and smiled. I asked her how she was doing today and that's when tears started running down her face and she told me she was not doing well. Janine told me that she was having a hard day and really wanted to see her husband. See, Janine is suffering from stage 2 dementia. Up until 3 weeks ago her and her husband, Jerry, lived upstairs in “assisted living” but Janine's memory was getting too bad for Jerry to live with. He had to come to a very difficult decision to have Janine moved down stairs to “memory care” In memory care this is where residence live that suffer from mid to late stages of dementia. Janine does not understand why she has to be away from her husband she told me she is not sick like the people around her. She told me she wants to touch her husband and go home with him. This got me really choked up listening to her and seeing her cry. I had to excuse myself and walked to the elevator. I could not keep it in any more I let loose and started bawling like a baby. I just kept thinking to my self, what if I was her and I had to be away from Richie and did not understand why. I was thinking why can't she just go upstairs and see him, its only feet away and she would be able to hug him and feel him. Regina ( my instructor) hugged me and told me that it would not take care of the long term problem. That she would feel better for a minute and then be “lost” again. I felt embarrassed for crying and told her I was sorry and I will get stronger to be able to work with residence like this. Regina was so nice and told me that it's a good thing I got upset and that it happens to the best Care Givers. She said it means I have a big heart. She was right, I wiped the tears off my face and went back down the hall straight to Janine. I put a smile on my face and asked her if she would like me to do her nails. I wanted to put a smile on her face and make her happy even if it was only for 45 minutes. I painted her nails and massaged lotion on her arms and hands. We talked about her children and where she grew up. She kept thanking me for making her nails pretty, I told her it was my pleasure. Then it was time for me to go, so I gave her a hug and kissed her cheek. I told her a would come back and visit her soon. She might not remember me when I do go back, but I will know how to put a smile on her face and make her happy for a little while. The thing is I only knew Janine for about 1 hour but I felt so much love in my heart for her. I felt like I wanted to bring her home and take care of her and show her love but reality was I couldn't. But what I can do is make sure I do my best to keep my family healthy and make wonderful memories for them to always keep close to their hearts. After coming home and doing more research I figure it is really quite simple you get rid of the bad stuff, put in the good stuff, and the body heals. It’s common sense, but we are so far from that in the way we treat chronic illness with conventional medicine. 1. Balance your blood sugar with a whole foods, low glycemic diet 2. Exercise daily — even a 30-minute walk can help 3. Deeply relax daily with yoga, meditation, or just deep breathing 4. Take a multivitamin and mineral supplement 5. Take an omega-3 fat supplement 6. Take extra vitamin B6, B12, and folate 7. Take vitamin D 8. Treat thyroid or low sex hormones 9. Get rid of mercury through a medical detoxification program This is just a start, but it can go a long way to giving your brain the chance to heal and recover if you have memory problems. Even if you aren’t suffering from cognitive decline, you should take these steps because they can help you prevent the aging of your brain and obtain lifelong health.