Alzheimer’s Aid Dogs Make Life Safer (Video 2:39)

Losing memory, the ability to function, and orientation to surroundings can be very frustrating to a person with Alzheimer’s disease. Imagine how frightening it can be for loved ones to have that person simply go for a walk outside while being unsure about problems with falling or getting lost. It is easy to see why some choose to stay in safety at home. Unfortunately, this can lead to depression and a lack of independence.

Some Alzheimer’s sufferers have found support for leading a more normal life. Yariv Ben Yosef, an Israeli dog trainer who specializes in training service dogs, developed a program for the Alzheimer’s Aid Dog project.  Bella, a smooth collie, was the first dog trained for this program. The first person to receive her was Yehuda, an Alzheimer’s patient aged 62.

Bella is trained to alert others when Yehuda is in distress, provide physical support to prevent falls and injuries, and even take him home if he becomes lost. In addition, Bella wears a special GPS homing device for the family to signal to the dog when it is time to bring Yehuda home. This device also makes it easy to locate them if Yehuda refuses to follow the dog. The dog never leaves him and barks to attract attention when needed.

Another form of assistance the dog provides is a special collar with a transmitter that reacts to a special bark the dog is trained to use to call for help. This bark activates the transmitter that transmits to the cell phones of family members. When at home, Bella is trained to operate a panic button if help is needed. 

The following video features Yehuda and his dog Bella. She has been with him for 11 years. They have a great 24-hour friendship caring for each other.

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Are You Ready to Die? Bella Was.

Are you ready to die? Many people assume that nobody really wants to die, but I have known several non-suicidal hospice patients who looked forward to death. Bella comes to mind first. She said she was ready to go to heaven, and, at a personal level, she was. But Bella kept pushing death back because she wanted her death ritual and other plans to be just right, the way she wanted them.

“I won’t be here when you come next week. I’ll be in heaven. You can call ahead if you want to be sure I’m not here. That way you won’t make a trip for nothing,” she warned me, her weekly hospice volunteer.

“Thanks for telling me, Bella. I’ll just come anyway and see for myself,” I responded like it was the most normal thing in the world. In recent weeks, whenever I left from visiting her, Bella said it was the last time I would see her. She said she would be dead before I returned the following week.

When I returned and she was still alive, I’d say, “Well, I guess you changed your mind about dying this week.” Bella always had a good excuse. A few times, she didn’t want to miss some festive activity like the annual Christmas party at the nursing home. Most times, it was for practical reasons like getting funeral, burial, and other after-death plans in order with the help of her family. She wanted her children to clean her house thoroughly, so relatives and friends could go there to fellowship after her funeral. Cleaning entailed sorting and packing clothes for charity. There were several other tasks beyond actual dust removal. Her various excuses for not dying continued for months while she finalized arrangements from her nursing home room.

Bella even invited me to join her on her after-death journey. She said it might be more fun if we went to heaven together. I declined this invitation by explaining it just wasn’t my time. Besides, she already had a bunch of people there waiting for her.

One day, Bella’s warning came true. I received the hospice phone call saying she had died. I smiled to myself and said, “Good for you, Bella! You finally did it!"

(Story above is excerpt from Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes.)

What about you? Are you ready to die? Do you think about what death really means to you and how you want your wishes implemented? Have you had death conversations that will help you and others prepare for death physically, financially, and regarding your property? Like Bella, is your “house” in order?

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) End-of-Life Decisions: Nurses, Families (Research, Video 3:54)

Everybody isn’t comfortable around dying people or even having conversations about them. But nurses in the intensive care unit (ICU) are confronted with this reality daily. Many have found ways to manage their personal adaptations and assist families in making their own adjustments when the time comes to discuss continuing aggressive treatment or shifting to end-of-life palliative care. ICU nurses help families negotiate consensus in these decisions.

The ICU dying process can be viewed as a story with several themes related to communication between nurses and families. These are the four parts of that story:

        1)   Building relationships and general communication 

        2)   Recognizing the need to transition to palliative care

        3)   Facilitating palliative care

        4)   Providing dignified care throughout the dying process

       ICU research involving 19 experienced intensive care nurses focused on their communication with families navigating the difficult path of transitioning from aggressive care to palliative care. This kind of research is important for caregivers because it helps them understand better how to talk about and reflect on the complex communication necessary for good end-of-life care. 

       In this video, the “3 Wishes Project” brings peace to the dying process for critically ill ICU patients and their loved ones. Family and clinician responses have been overwhelmingly positive.

 

Frances Shani Parker, Author

Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes is available in paperback and e-book editions in America and other countries at online and offline booksellers.

Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog