dementia expert

Casey at the Bat

alzheimersideas — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 20:46:05 +0000

Why am I sharing this poem with you today?
Click here for the answer

Casey at the Bat
By Ernest Lawrence Thayer Taken From the San Francisco Examiner - June 3, 1888

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game. A straggling few got up to go in deep despair. The rest
Clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, “If only Casey could but get a whack at that —
We’d put up even money now, with Casey at the bat.”But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat;
For there seemed but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despised, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey’s manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey’s bearing and a smile lit Casey’s face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt ’twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt.
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance flashed in Casey’s eye, a sneer curled Casey’s lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped —
“That ain’t my style,” said Casey. “Strike one!” the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore;
“Kill him! Kill the umpire!” shouted some one on the stand;
And it’s likely they’d have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey’s visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the dun sphere flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said “Strike two!”

“Fraud!” cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered “Fraud!”
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn’t let that ball go by again.

The sneer has fled from Casey’s lip, the teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go,
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey’s blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright,
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville — mighty Casey has struck out.

Making Easter special(part 3)

alzheimersideas — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 22:13:35 +0000

What else can you do on Easter to make life as grand as possible for persons with dementia?

Many people wore Easter bonnets for Easter. Trying on hats can be enjoyable. It probably will bring back memories and family stories that are always wonderful to hear.

Telling them makes the persons with dementia feel good. You probably have heard the stories before so fill in the blanks if you need to. Otherwise just sit back and listen. Make sure to appear interested.

What about a family Easter egg hunt? Team up the person with dementia with another family member and a grandchild. As you know persons with dementia love children.

Of course going to church is important if the person with dementia can tolerate it. You can always go for a short period of time or have an Easter spiritual circle at home

Enjoy Adorable Photographs at Easter or anytime

Come back for more

Making Easter special(part 2)

alzheimersideas — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:24:27 +0000

As I said yesterday, part of making life for those with dementia as pleasant as possible is to celebrate the holidays with them in a joyful fashion.

What else can you do to make Easter special?

Think back to your family’s past What traditions did your familt carry out? What can you still do?

Here are some other possible ideas
*Make and or fill an Easter basket.
If you have no one to give it to donate o\it to a local charity or childrens organization.
Perhaps you can make a trip to a local pre-school to donate some time with your loved one with dementia.
Obviosly this may not be appropriate for everyone.

*Watch an Easter video or listen to Easter music

Here are the Lyrics to the song Easter Parade
“Never saw you look quite so pretty before
Never saw you dressed quite so lovely what’s more
I could hardly wait to keep our date this lovely Easter morning
And my heart beat fast as I came through the door
For
In your Easter bonnet, with all the frills upon it
You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter paradeI’ll be all in clover and when they look you over
I’ll be the proudest fellow in the Easter paradeOn the Avenue
Fifth Avenue
The photographers will snap us
And you’ll find that you’re
In the rotogravureOh, I could write a sonnet about your Easter bonnet
And of the girl I’m taking to the Easter parade”

Remember this book for those with dementia.

Adorable Photographs

Come back for more about Easter activities you can share

First Commenter-
C A Johnson

Make Easter special for those with dementia

alzheimersideas — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:54:20 +0000

Part of making life for those with dementia as pleasant as possible is to celebrate the holidays with them in a joyful fashion.

The celebration will resemble the way you celebrated it in the past. However you will make accommodations for the people with dementia.

Obviously, they will not be able to cook Easter dinner as they may have done in the past. However that does not mean they can not help.

You must assess what they can do well. Maybe they can measure or mix ingredients.

Maybe you will have to remake what they made, but do not tell them you have.

Perhaps they will have to sit on the side line and watch.

Maybe you will need to find a meaningful activity while you prepare the meal.

Here is a good book that will fill the bill.

Adorable Photographs

Come back for more about Easter activities you can share

First commenter-
Caregiving Daughter

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alzheimersideas — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:32:28 +0000

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First commenter

Health n Beauty

Living with dementia

alzheimersideas — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 22:03:59 +0000

I decided to change the title of this series so it does not sound like all doom and gloom. There are some happy moments to be shared, however you need to have the right attitude.

Persons with dementia are not the same as they were before and as such the same expectations can not be made.

I guess that you have to think of the person you once knew leaving on a long trip and getting further and further away. Contact with them becomes less and less.

The good news is that you now have a new friend who is something like the person you once knew with dementia. This person has the same past interests and looks remarkably similar to the person you once knew.

It is good to get to know this new person. See what their interests and strengths are. Be loving toward them. However do not have the same expectations.

The saga continues soon. Come back to learn more

Buy Adorable Photographs of our Baby,book or flashcards

First commenter-The Times They Are A Changing

Let’s take a break

alzheimersideas — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:10:44 +0000

Today is April Fool’s Day. So let us take a break from the Death by dementia series to catch up on some news and views.

As many of you know, the management of Today com has decided that having an Entrecard on your blog will no longer be allowed so as of April 5, I will be removing my Enrecard fom this blog. However I do have a blogspot blog called dementiatips My Entrecard is on there.

I am looking for suggestions on what to replace it with on this blog. Any ideas?

I want to thank you for all your support.

I am hopeful you will visit all my blogs and website often.

I will be awarding some great blogs soon.

Again, thank you

First commenter-WAVE WEAVER

Death by dementia(part 3)

alzheimersideas — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 21:37:10 +0000

We were discussing end stage dementia. Specifically we were talking about swallowing issues. I said that sometimes people with end stage dementia get aspiration pneumonia where food or drink winds up in the lungs. Because of a faulty swallowing mechanism, food goes to the lungs not down the esophagus to the stomach. This can be very serious as you can well imagine.

Sometimes a feeding tube may be necessary to sustain life. Personally, I feel, if there is no quality to the life, what is the point. However this is a decision the family has to make.

Hospice care is available for end of life care including care of those with end stage dementia.

I am going to try to get a guest poster to share some information with you.

Thanks for joining me

Come back tomorrow.

Make sure to visit my sister site

Make sure to read this book to get all the facts

Donate to the Alzheimer’s Association

Watch this movie to get some insight into life with dementia

First commenter

Glue4Families

Death by dementia(part 2)

alzheimersideas — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:25:21 +0000

As I discussed earlier, the end stage of dementia is not pretty. With any luck the person who is at this point in the disease will pass quickly. There is no quality of life.

Most likely this person with end stage dementia cannot talk. They may make verbal utterances. They cannot move except for involuntary reflex actions.

Then they stop eating and drinking because they forget how to swallow.

Often their diet has to be downgraded to puree like baby food because they forget how to chew or chew and swallow. Many times they have to be reminded to swallow when they eat.

Often their liquids have to be thickened because the swallowing mechanism itself works too slowly. Sometimes they get…..

We will also try to extract some happy moments. As you can imagine there are many not so happy moments.

Thanks for joining me

Come back tomorrow.

Make sure to visit my sister site

Make sure to read this book to get all the facts

Donate to the Alzheimer’s Association

Watch this movie to get some insight into life with dementia

First commenter-
Science Fun

Death by dementia

alzheimersideas — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:38:28 +0000

After I read the alarming statistic that the death rate from dementia increased 47%. I decided that people need to know the jouney a person with dementia and his caregiver network have.

I am going to do this journey backwards.

People who are diagnosed with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease Frontotemporal Lobe Dementia(FTD), multi-infarct dementia, vasular dementia, Lewy Body Dementia as well as a few others, live from 2 months to 20 years with the disease dependikng on many factors.

Often a catostrphic event hastens the decline of a person with dementia.

Frequently a person has a combinatioon of dementias which makes treating it ever so difficult

So join me on this journey which will have some happy moments and many not so happy moments

Come back tomorrow.

Make sure to visit my sister site

Make sure to read this book to get all the facts

Donate to the Alzheimer’s Association

Watch this movie to get some insight into life with dementia

First Commenter-CA Johnson