Page 13 - June Hernando 2020 Senior Voice
P. 13

Health Connections                                                                        Senior Voice of Hernando County - JUNE 2020 • 13
                                                                                                    Senior Voice of Hernando County • JUNE 2020 • 13

          Coping with Dementia



        Covid-19 Has Changed the Conversation




                           By Debbie                     I now see among my support groups                issue, there is now a greater emphasis
                           Selsavage                     a keen interest in discussing the                on contingency planning.  I consider

                                                         issues that are inevitable but not yet           this a healthy trend.  More intelligent
                           When social distancing        pressing.  These include conversations           discussion among care partners about
                           began in response to          about powers-of-attorney, healthcare             contingency planning today will result in
                           Covid-19, I, and other        surrogacy, professional placement,               a reduced need for crisis management in

                           dementia practitioners,       financial planning, arranging for third-         the future, and this is a good thing.
                           could no longer               party support, and – perhaps the most
                           facilitate support groups     important of all -- self-care!  Let’s face       Debbie Selsavage is a Certified

        for the care partners of individuals living      it; if we don’t take care of ourselves and       Trainer and Consultant in the Positive
        with Alzheimer’s and other forms of              prudently plan, one day there may be no          Approach to Care, and a Certified
        dementia.                                                                                         Dementia Practitioner.  Her company,
                                                         one to take care of our loved one with           Coping with Dementia LLC, is
        Previously, I had conducted two support          dementia.                                        dedicated to making life better for

        groups per month, but these had to               So Covid-19 has definitely flipped the           individuals living with dementia.
        be canceled and hastily reorganized              agenda.  While crisis management is              Contact Debbie at deb@coping.today to
        as virtual meetings through on-line              still, and always will be, an important          learn about free support groups on line.
        technology.  With workshops, speaking

        engagements, and other face-to-face               D o n ’ t  He s it a t e  t o
        events also canceled, I suddenly had
        more time and more demand for on-                 S e e k  E m e r g e n c y  C a r e
        line contact, and soon I found myself

        facilitating as many as ten on-line                Heart attack, stroke and cardiac arrest symptoms are always urgent. Don’t
        meetings a month.  And with no                     hesitate to call 911.
        geographical limitations, we’ve had                Emergency workers know what to do to protect and care for you.
        people joining us from as far away as              HEART ATTACK SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

        Oregon and Ontario!                                •  Chest discomfort

        So, clearly, Covid-19 has revolutionized           •  Discomfort in other areas of the upper body
        the methodology and frequency of care              •  Shortness of breath
        partner support meetings.  But what I              •  Other possible signs include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or

        did not anticipate was that it would also            lightheadedness.
        significantly change the nature of the             •  As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain
        conversation by confronting each of us               or discomfort.  Some women are more likely to experience shortness of

        with the question, “What will happen                 breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.
        to my loved one with dementia if I                 REMEMBER TO ACT F.A.S.T. DURING STROKE
        suddenly become incapacitated?”                    •  Face drooping – Does one side of the face droop or is it numb?
                                                           •  Arm weakness – Is one arm weak or numb?
        Typically, support groups dedicate a               •  Speech difficulty – Is speech slurred, are they unable to speak, or are they

        lot of time to the crisis-du-jour; the               hard to understand?
        problems caused by their loved one’s               •  Time to call 911 – If the person shows any of these symptoms, even if the
        behavior that they do not know how to                symptoms go away, call 911 and get them to the hospital immediately.
        cope with.  Usually, this leaves little time       CARDIAC ARREST

        to talk about the care partner’s health and        Cardiac arrest occurs when the heart malfunctions and stops beating
        wellbeing, or for contingency planning             unexpectedly. Within seconds, a person becomes unresponsive, is not
        in the event that they too become ill or           breathing or is only gasping. Survival depends on getting immediate CPR.
        incapacitated.
   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18