{"id":199,"date":"2012-11-23T01:07:17","date_gmt":"2012-11-23T01:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=199"},"modified":"2012-11-14T23:40:48","modified_gmt":"2012-11-14T23:40:48","slug":"alzheimers-disease-holiday-gift-giving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2012\/11\/alzheimers-disease-holiday-gift-giving.html","title":{"rendered":"Alzheimer’s Disease: Holiday Gift Giving"},"content":{"rendered":"

What do you give someone who has Alzheimer’s disease? What can you possibly say or do that will express the love and gratitude you have for him or her, even if the disease is\u00a0progressing and he or she is slipping away from\u00a0who they once were? And, what do you give those who are caring for the person with Alzheimer’s disease?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I recently spoke with Jean Dickinson, Vice President, Communications and Marketing, for the Alzheimer’s Association, California Southland Chapter. To answer exactly the questions I have posed above, she and the Association have put together lists of suggestions for thoughtful and creative holiday gift-giving.\u00a0 course, each situation is different; it’s a good idea to ask for suggestions from the caregivers of the person to whom you wish to give a gift.\u00a0 But here are some general suggestions:<\/p>\n

1) Helpful tools to make bathing easier, including: A waterproof radio, a shower\/bath chair, a pretty night light, “soap-on-a-rope,” a hand-held showerhead, non-slip floor coverings<\/p>\n

2) Clothing:\u00a0 Easy-to-remove clothing in comfortable, machine washable fabrics, slip-on shoes\/slippers with Velcro closing, leg warmers \u00a0(be sure to ask about appropriate sizes before purchasing gifts of clothing).<\/p>\n

3) Personal items: A photograph album filled with people and places that are a part of the person with Alzheimer’s past, videos of family get-togethers, a tap or CD or favorite music or messages from family and friends, a Medic-Alert + Safe Return identification bracelet\/necklace (for more information, go to www.alz.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Specifically for the caregiver:<\/p>\n

1) Offer to help prepare part or all of a holiday meal or other holiday duties (mailing packages, stamping and addressing Christmas cards, etc.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

2) Give gift cards to stores that have useful gadgets for the home, or medical\u00a0supply stores (these might seem mundane, but they will be appreciated!)<\/p>\n

3) Arrange for a friend to host a “spa” afternoon for the caregiver – and provide for someone else to take over her duties for that time – or just arrange for the caregiver to have a free afternoon or evening, perhaps to see a movie or just get extra sleep.<\/p>\n

4)\u00a0Give a\u00a0donation to the charity of the caregiver’s choice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are many other ideas on the Alzheimer’s Association website: www.alz.org<\/a>. And, if you have discovered a good idea for gift giving, let us know!<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What do you give someone who has Alzheimer’s disease? What can you possibly say or do that will express the love and gratitude you have for him or her, even if the disease is\u00a0progressing and he or she is slipping away from\u00a0who they once were? And, what do you give those who are caring for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[139,3,43],"tags":[217,142,218,215,219,220,216],"class_list":["post-199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alzheimers-disease","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-encouragement-in-life","tag-alzheimers-disease-3","tag-caregivers","tag-caregivers-for-people-with-alzheimers","tag-gift-giving","tag-gifting","tag-giving","tag-presents"],"yoast_head":"\nAlzheimer's Disease: Holiday Gift Giving - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alzheimer's Disease: Holiday Gift Giving - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What do you give someone who has Alzheimer’s disease? 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":202,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199\/revisions\/202"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}