As a Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES\u00ae), I\u2019ve had the privilege of helping many families through major life transitions, including those with a loved one affected by Alzheimer\u2019s disease and other forms of dementia. These diagnoses don\u2019t just impact the individual\u2014they touch entire families, caregivers, and friends. Understanding what to expect and learning practical ways to communicate with and support a loved one can make an incredible difference for everyone involved.A fellow REALTOR\u00ae recently attended an excellent educational Zoom call on Alzheimer\u2019s and dementia and shared some valuable caregiving tips and strategies for reducing risk. I thought the information was too important not to pass along. Whether you\u2019re currently caring for a loved one, preparing for the future, or simply wanting to better understand these diseases, I hope you\u2019ll find the insights below both helpful and encouraging.
\nThis week\u2019s ActiveRain Zoom call focused on the diseases of Alzheimer\u2019s as well as dementia symptoms. Interestingly enough, all of the people who participated in today\u2019s Zoom call have known and\/or cared for someone who had these biological brain disorders. Because much of our discussion could be useful by all other ActiveRainers, we are sharing the output of our meeting here.
\nWe covered two different topics today. The first was how to care for someone with Alzheimer\u2019s (this term will be used for any dementia) and second, what can we do to stay brain healthy.
\nCaring for\/visiting someone with Alzheimer\u2019s:
\nThe team brainstormed these ideas on how to help those with Alzheimer\u2019s:Engage the person with open ended questions so they don\u2019t have to struggle to remember a fact (for example, instead of saying, \u201cwho is that person\u201d say something like \u201cwhat do you think of this photo?\u201d)
\nStay present with where your loved one is at the time. For example, if they are talking about someone who has passed away and they ask if they\u2019re going to see them this weekend for a fishing trip, say sure! Don\u2019t correct their thoughts about the present. Just be there.
\nMusic from the past can often be used to engage someone who has\u00a0

Alzheimer\u2019s. They will sing along and remember things from that time period. Try I \u2764\ufe0f Radio.
\nAll people with these brain ailments can act differently. Some are angry that they cannot remember. Some focus on specific things or people. Some get their days and nights mixed up. There is no one size fits all for care.
\nBringing a person to places they used to visit or live in can juggle memories and get them to share and be engaged.
\nRead \u201cThe 36 Hour Day\u201d by Nancy L. Mace and Peter V. Rabins to learn more about the disease and how to be a caregiver.
\nWrite down the answers to commonly asked questions and provide that information to the person with the memory issues. Write out things like \u201ctoday\u2019s date is June 6, 2023, and you are staying with your son George and his wife Mary and \u2026\u201d\u00a0 The information should be based on whatever it is that person keeps asking. This can help both the caregiver and person with Alzheimer\u2019s.
\nTry playing games or doing activities with the person. Some may like bingo, or cards, or even raking leaves.
\nPatience is a must! One example given dealt with going out to dinner and someone ordered four different desserts because they didn\u2019t remember they already ordered one. Also, repeating questions can be very hard to deal with as a caregiver so patience is needed.
\nDon\u2019t be afraid to ask for help if providing caregiving to someone with Alzheimer\u2019s. It can be very difficult, especially if the person needs to be watched 24 hours a day (because they like escaping, causing themselves or others harm, or need help eating and staying clean). Many of us don\u2019t like to ask for help for anything, but it\u2019s a must if the caregiver is to retain their own health!
\nEven if the person won\u2019t remember you\u2019re there, visit and stay for a while. Engage them in whatever activities they are interested in, tell stories!
\nMitigating Alzheimer\u2019s Risk
\nSecond, we talked about how to keep ourselves healthy and hopefully not get Alzheimer\u2019s.
\nThe main takeaway was that we needed to make sure our body and mind stay as healthy as can be. We need to make sure to:Aim for 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week.
\nEat Brain-healthy foods such as those found in a Mediterranean diet
\nEat blueberries.
\nStay Cognitively and Socially Active \u2013 constantly stretch your mind by continuing to learn new things such as language or instrument, do daily puzzles, and interact with friends, family and community groups.
\nTake care of issues such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
\nLimit seed oils from your diet.
\nFollow the below chart:

\nAnd follow this guidance regarding what kinds of foods to eat:
\n

\nFinally, besides taking care of our body and brain, we need to take care of the legal documents necessary to make sure the people we want to take care of us and make decisions (if we were to have Alzheimer\u2019s) will be able to. In my state, the forms are a Durable Power of Attorney and Health Care Power of Attorney, but we need to make sure we use the correct documents for our state. If we don\u2019t, and we become unable to take care of our own business, a conservator-ship may be required which can be expensive and challenging.
\nThe above ideas were a compilation of the thirteen people on today\u2019s call. If anyone has items they would like to add to this post, please let me know and I will keep this updated. Also, to today\u2019s attendees, if I captured something incorrectly, let me know and I\u2019ll fix it!
\nThe bottom line is that Alzheimer\u2019s and dementia are not going away. In fact, it was mentioned today that someone in the United States is diagnosed with Alzheimer\u2019s disease approximately every 65 seconds.\u00a0 Let\u2019s do what we need to so that we don\u2019t add to that statistic. And let\u2019s give ourselves grace if we are caring for a loved one who has Alzheimer\u2019s. And ask for help!\n\n\n\n

\nKalispell, Bigfork, Lakeside and Somers areas.
\nAre you getting ready to sell or purchase land or a home in Kalispell\u00a0 or the surrounding vicinity? Let\u2019s talk!
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\nKAT PALMIOTTI, BROKER\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Rain Silverhawk
\nRain Silverhawk is an Associate Broker and owner of Sandpoint Realty serving Bonner, Boundary and Kootenai Counties. Rain has over 40 years of real estate experience and specializes in waterfront, acreage, off-grid properties, wells, septic systems and rural North Idaho real estate.<\/p>\n

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\nnorthidahosandpoint@gmail.comRain Silverhawk RealtorSandpoint Realty LLC1205 Hwy 2 STE 203 B |\u00a0 Sandpoint, ID. 83864 Phone (208)\u00a0 610-0011<\/p><\/div>\n\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES\u00ae), I\u2019ve had the privilege of helping many families through major life transitions, including those with a loved one affected by Alzheimer\u2019s disease and other forms of dementia. These diagnoses don\u2019t just impact the individual\u2014they touch entire families, caregivers, and friends. Understanding what to expect and learning practical ways […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6520,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[33,34,19,32,20,31,30],"class_list":["post-6519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-activerain","tag-homes-for-sale","tag-land-for-sale","tag-north-idaho","tag-north-idaho-real-estate","tag-rain-silverhawk","tag-sandpoint-real-estate","tag-sandpoint-realty"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t