|
|
|
During the summer or at any other time of the year that you plan to travel or to vacation with a person with Alzheimer's disease (AD), it is very important to examine the pros and cons of what may be ahead on the trip.
Be Realistic:
- Generally vacations do not "relax" a person with AD, nor do they necessarily return "better off."
- AD persons usually forget vacation experiences immediately, and many patients will ask when it is time to go home as soon as they leave their permanent home.
- Strangers, foreign languages, customs, food, water, accommodations, climates, time changes, busy terminals, planes, trains and buses are all known to precipitate catastrophic reactions in AD persons. In fact, many families will first notice the person's symptoms on a vacation.
- It is extremely difficult for the most determined caregiver to manage a person with AD through a vacation while assuming full responsibility for all necessary planning and thinking ahead for both people. Some full-time caregivers do better with a respite vacation on their own.
- If the caregiver or the person with AD becomes ill or sustains an injury, it may be very stressful or complicated to locate adequate medical assistance.
It's Not All Bad:
Vacations DO provide a sense of normalcy, continuity and brief memorable times together for many families. Vacations are stimulating and often provide a more supportive environment of friends and other relatives for an isolated caregiver. BUT THIS REQUIRES PLANNING, RISK-TAKING, ENERGY AND BACK-UP ALL THE WAY.
If You Go Together:
- Realistically evaluate the diagnosed person's wishes, and the skills he/she retains as well as the skills he/she has lost. Compare this evaluation with your wishes. Anticipate potentially stressful situations and design contingency plans to avoid them. (Safeguards for night wanderers, identification for the patient, and all pertinent medications, records and insurance cards.)
- Inquire about Senior Discounts and bring proof of age.
- REMEMBER: Travel during off-peak hours is cheaper AND less stressful.
- Travel with two caregivers for each diagnosed person. If you are alone with your AD spouse, take an "OCCUPIED" sign for restrooms if your assistance is required. Always carry a change of clothes and a security object for the patient.
- Frank, discrete disclosures to tour guides and other travelers will save frustration and embarrassment. Hand waitresses a card suggesting they ask you to order. Use a card in shops to give to salespeople if necessary to explain why you need to help if purchasing clothes that need to be tried on for fit. A letter written by the spouse of an AD patient to other tour members with the following added: "Words of friendship, assurance, and comfort are welcome, as well as simple observations such as "see the whale, birds, wild flowers, goats, horses, etc. He/she enjoys a joke and unobtrusive helpfulness."
- Consider traveling in a recreational vehicle to keep the environment consistent. A beach house where relatives can come to visit for brief periods in small groups may work.
- Keep the daignosed person's diet and dining times simple and consistent. Be sure they are adequately protected from the sun and extreme temperatures. Offer fluids and snacks constantly.
- Take pictures of the family enjoying each other's company or clowning around together at favorite vacation spots. The diagnosed person will enjoy the pictures and your stories about them much longer than his/her fading memory of the trip. Help him/her relate this trip to other pleasant memories of past trips and family reunions. This may provide a meaningful context for the patient to understand the change in routine. The pictures and memories will also enrich pleasant family memories of the diagnosed individual.
---------------
Traveling with the Alzheimer's Disease Patient: TO GO OR NOT TO GO??? by Lisa Gwyther, MSW (from "The Caregiver" Newsletter)
In the Northern Virginia Chapter Service Area, for more information about Vacationing or Traveling, please contact the Chapter's telephone Helpline at 703-359-4440 or 800-207-8679. Outside Northern Virginia, please contact your local Chapter.
Home | Who We Are | Volunteer | Membership | What's New | Calendar of Events | Links | About Alzheimer's | Programs & Services | Search
Last updated: March 1, 1999
Please return to https://www.alz-nova.org or
call 800-207-8679 or 703-359-4440
for more information about services in Northern Virginia.
© 1997 - 2000 Alzheimer's Association, Northern Virginia Chapter. All rights reserved.
|
