Alz In The Fam

“10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer’s and Dementia”, from Alz.org is the subject of episode 2 of Alz In Fam. Hosts Allan and Poli discuss the early warning signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia and how they first identified them in their mom. Following this article: https://bit.ly/2RL9p0b, Allan and Poli recount stories of the instances that they can now identify as many of these early warning signs.

Allan and Poli tell stories about their mom’s slow decline in memory as she began getting lost, forgetting how to perform basic tasks, having, and getting confused by time and place – all of which, and more, led them to realizing that their mom had begun her battle with Alzheimer’s.

Allan and Poli also discuss how difficult it was to take the leap of acknowledging the disease in their mom and helping her take the necessary steps to get the help she needed, ultimately becoming her caregivers.

If anyone is noticing early signs and symptoms of Alzheimer’s and dementia in themselves or a loved one, Allan and Poli encourage them to start the process of getting help as soon as possible. As challenging as it is to accept and admit that help is needed, don’t wait.

Allan and Poli are active members of the Alzheimer’s Association community. They encourage anyone and everyone who is affected by this disease to check it out.

The Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org) is a great resource that provides crucial information on the disease and support for both the caregivers and those suffering from Alzheimer’s.

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Caregivers and siblings, Allan Fair and Poli Fair Noyes, discuss the early days of their mother’s Dementia and memory loss that eventually led to her Alzheimer’s Diagnosis.

Meet Allan Fair and Poli Fair Noyes in the debut episode of their podcast, Alz In The Fam. Together they are part of a team of siblings who are caregivers for their mother Carmen, who suffers from Alzheimer’s Disease.

In this episode they discuss how they started this podcast to share their journey with other caregivers and future caregivers.

Like so many they have taken solace in the stories of other caregivers, and now they hope to give back and share their own stories of what they’ve learned.

Listen to them discuss the moments when they realized they needed to be more than just their mother's children, and had to also become her caregivers...all while raising their own children in the process.

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Alzheimer's Sucks. But Our Family Rocks! Learn, Love and Laugh with Us, as We Care for Our Mom, and Fight For A Cure. Coming Soon!

In Episode 12 of Alz In The Fam, the four Fair siblings discuss COVID-19 and its ongoing effects on Memory Care Facilities. Due to COVID-19, many of the residents of these facilities are facing severe and damaging isolation, such as their mom.

To protect the health of the residents, Memory Care Facilities, like their mom’s, are taking extra precautions to shield residents and staff from sickness. These precautions, however, have a negative effect on the residents.

As the Fair siblings state, their mom was moved into a senior living community to avoid the isolation that many seniors face when living alone. The pandemic, however, has left their mother isolated, confused and uncomfortable.

Since March, the Fair family have only been able to see their mom in person once. All other communication is done over Facetime, which puts a strain on the communication they have with their mom.

When their Mom’s Memory Care facility did open again, after all staff and residents had two consecutive negative tests, it only opened for outdoor visits in the extremely hot and humid July weather. Two days later, a staff member tested positive and the facility shut down again. Allan has been unable to see his Mom in person for more than six months.

The Fair siblings are not allowed to take their mom out for family gatherings or for excursions to the hair or nail salon, or for a walk. These outings were a way for the siblings to take care of their Mom and give her a chance to socialize or enjoy a change of scenery.

It is devastating to the Fair family that they cannot hug their Mom. And because they cannot visit her inside or take her for outings, the siblings are constantly worried about how well her hygiene is being monitored. They also worry if their Mom recognizes herself with her now gray hair.

So many residents passed away during the COVID-19 shutdown that the Fair sibling’s Mom had to be moved to a new room and floor in her facility. Her floor lost more than half of its residents to COVID-19 or complications of other diseases exacerbated by COVID. The siblings are worried about their Mom adjusting to a new room and bed especially with the challenge of advanced Alzheimer’s Disease. This transition has been difficult on their mother, and the siblings can see how upset it has made her.

Their mom is still unable to go for outdoor walks due to COVID-19, causing her to gain weight, and has suffered from the extreme isolation required to bring the COVID-19 outbreak under control.

The siblings discuss how difficult it is to have their Mom at a senior facility with all the measures in place to preserve and protect their Mom’s physical health. They debate how on the one hand this helps to prolong her life and the lives of other residents and staff, but on the other hand it is prolonging a now sad and lonely time for their Mom. For similar reasons, the siblings also debate signing off on the flu shot for their mother given their Mom’s history of refusing the shot.

Poli and Allan also discuss how Coronavirus patients with dementia in the U.S. who are hospitalized, are not allowed to have a caregiver go with them. When they were guests on “The D Word” radio show Allan and Poli learned that the UK has a rule that requires hospitals to allow a caregiver to join dementia patients in the hospital.

The Fair siblings hope that Memory Care Facilities can find a balance that will help families and their loved ones reconnect, while still maintaining the safety of all parties involved. They hope, more than anything, that they can give their mom a hug soon.

In Episode 8 of Alz In The Fam, listen as we decide that it’s time to intervene in Mom’s living situation. In this episode, the four Fair siblings discuss the next step in Mom’s journey with Alzheimer’s – moving out of her own home and in with one of her kids.

This step in Mom’s Alzheimer’s journey was a difficult one to take. Mom was extremely stubborn, and it was difficult to figure out a living situation that worked for both her and us siblings. While the first option included sharing her time between Poli’s house and Trissi’s house, this set up quickly became too difficult and confusing for the whole family.

The decision to move Mom out of her own house was difficult to make. We realized this step was necessary once we felt that our Mom’s safety was at risk living alone. Not only was she becoming less able to take care of herself, but there were outside factors and weird events that made us increasingly alarmed.

Ultimately, moving Mom out of her house and into one of our homes was a decision we made to keep her safe. While it was hard logistically and emotionally, it was the best decision for us all. Listen to hear more about this transitional period for our family and why we made this change.

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