hydrocephalus & dementia

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judyp
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Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 11:05 am
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by judyp on Mon Jul 23, 2012 12:48 pm

hydrocephalus & dementia

Hello - I am here on behalf of my brother who is 72 and has hydrocephalus. Part of the conditions is that he suffers with memory loss which I guess is a type of dementia.

He is now living in sheltered accommodation/warden assisted living accommodation so well cared for. However, I am responsible for looking after all of his finances. I do have power of attorney in place and although he can no longer write, he can still (just about) sign his name. So at the moment I am reluctant to activate the power of attorney. However, when do you think it would be the right time to do so? I don't want to take away his independence but at the same time at some point I will need to take full responsibility for his affairs. I really struggle with all of this and all that goes with his condition. His health generally is deteriorating and he barely moves out of his chair. He seems bright enough but I just feel he is wasting away and going downhill week by week.

Any advice you can give me would be appreciated with regards to the power of attorney, and with regard to any informaiton you can give me that may help his quality of life.

Judy

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Nurse Ian Weatherhead
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 11:18 am
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by Nurse Ian Weatherhead on Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:17 pm

Re: hydrocephalus & dementia

Hi Judy,
This is always a difficult dilemma for families, when to take over.
However, even registering the LPA now still permits your brother to have responsibility to make decisions, sign for things etc. the LPA covers two areas, Health and Welfare, and Property and Financial affairs. Under the Health and Welfare section you can in fact only take control once your brother loses capacity to do so himself. In the Property and Finance LPA it can be specified as and when your brother would like you to take over, ie once he has lost capacity.
I would certainly recommend registering it now even if he can still act for himself. The Alzheimers Society have a legal advisor, and you may want to discuss further with them, look at www.alzheimers.org.uk for more information.

With regards to trying to improve quality of life. It's not so much about making changes, it's more about sustaining where he is at and what he is able to do now, and maintaining that for as long as possible. Some of the other posts and comments in other sections in this dementia forum might be of help hopefully in ideas to engage and support.

Sadly dementia is irreversible and your brother will lose abilities as time goes on, however you say he seems bright enough, and in his own way he may feel contented, often it's more about our anxieties as carers that we need to be doing more rather than the person actually needing anything.
Sometimes too it's simply about asking the person if they are happy or not, or whether there are things they would like to do.
Think about what he has enjoyed doing thorough his life, hobbies, interests etc. although physically he lack the ability to do things, he might still annoy watching programmes, listening to the radio, talking books etc and just talking about things he has enjoyed.
Another good idea is to create what's known as a Life Story book, again look at the Alzheimers Society site for 'This is me' information.
This can be a great way to collect information with him, not just for the two of you to engage with, but also so that other people can engage more effectively with him. We often suggest these for when going into care, or for home carers, it can cover his past life, family, likes, dislikes and anything you like, include photos and items. It is a valuable way of remembering him through all his life, not just the difficult later stages of life, and they can be very stimulating.

Hope this helps
Kind regards
Ian Weatherhead
Lead Dementia Nurse
http://www.admiralnurseacademy.org/

judyp
Posts: 9
Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2012 11:05 am
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by judyp on Tue Jul 24, 2012 9:38 am

Re: hydrocephalus & dementia

Hello Ian - thank you so much for all your really helpful and practical advice. This is probably the best information I've been given so far as to be honest the social workers, whilst being somewhat helpful, changed from visit to visit so there was little consistency and also the GP seems unsure of anything other than the basics. It's been uplifting to get some 'proper' advice. I will look further around this forum as you suggest. And, I will also try to focus more on what my brother can do rather than what he used to be able to do.

I will also visit the Alzheimer's Society site too.

I can't thank you enough for helping to turn my worries into something more tangible.

Judy

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Nurse Ian Weatherhead
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed Jul 04, 2012 11:18 am
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by Nurse Ian Weatherhead on Tue Jul 24, 2012 2:28 pm

Re: hydrocephalus & dementia

Hi Judy, glad to be of help.
If needing further advice you can also call our national helpline at Admiral Nursing DIRECT tel 0845 257 9406 or email direct@dementiauk.org where an Admiral Nurse-a dementia care specialist would be happy to discuss any issues further.
The main thing for all carers like yourself is knowing there is help out there, and that you are not alone!

Kind regards,
Ian
Ian Weatherhead
Lead Dementia Nurse
http://www.admiralnurseacademy.org/

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