Should You Take Your Alzheimer’s Family Member on Trips from the Nursing Home?
Once your Alzheimer’s family member has entered a nursing home, is it wise to take them on trips or visits to your home? Will this confuse them more? Or will it give them pleasure and a respite from nursing home life?
This all depends on the Alzheimer’s patient’s condition, the family’s ability to take them for trips, and the situation that awaits them on their journey.
After Mother began living in the nursing home, I didn’t take her away from the premises (except to move her to a second nursing home when the first one closed). Before that, when Mother lived in her home and then ours, I did take her for rides and jaunts.
However, once she entered the nursing home, Mother developed her own world. She thought she was home. That “home” changed periodically from the one where she lived with my dad for more than 50 years, the boarding house where she stayed when attending teachers’ college, the farmhouse where she grew up, or a relative’s home she might visit.
We took her for strolls, and later in her wheelchair, around the lawns at the nursing home. But she always seemed glad to get back to her room and “Aunt Nell.” For a number of years she had the same roommate, a lady she thought was Aunt Nell from her childhood.
My family and I visited Mother frequently, joined her for holiday meals at the nursing home, participated in activities, enjoyed tea parties as we did when she lived in her home, and sometimes simply sat and read or wrote letters.
For you, something else might be the solution. Your family member might like meals in a restaurant, holiday celebrations in a family member’s home or rides around the area looking at scenery. Generally, as Alzheimer’s becomes more pronounced, taking them from the nursing home will only lead to confusion. However, each family has to make their decision.
What has worked well for you?
(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen
Tags: Alzheimer's traveling, Alzheimers, Alzheimers-disease, caregivers, Caregiving, Nursing HomesRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Care, Caregivers, Personal Caregiving Experiences
2 opinions for Should You Take Your Alzheimer’s Family Member on Trips from the Nursing Home?
Cate McCarty
Feb 28, 2008 at 9:46 am
How true! Timing in the disease is key to the complexity of the trip. As a recreation specialist, I found through experience that time of day and smooth preparation being key. The best trips were the simplest, call ahead ice cream parlor; small fruit stands; fall foilage rides, hardware store, park pontoon ride, etc. . . . It takes much prep on the CNA’s part and thought on the family’s part. Minimizing all confusion makes it more pleasant. The effort is worth it– some of the best memories for families are ones with “outings”. Photos of the outing will prove invaluable for future reflection.
Mary Emma Allen
Feb 29, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Cate, thanks for visiting Alzheimer’s Notes and sharing your experiences here. I’m sure these will be of great help to family members who plan outings with Alzheimer’s patients.
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