The Buck Stops At The Door Of The Primary Alzheimers Caregiver

The Buck Stops Here!

No Matter What Happens
or Who Says Otherwise,
if you are the Primary Care Giver
You Must
Never Forget

YOU ARE
Ultimately Responsible

The Alzheimer’s patient has one Primary Caregiver and hopefully, a number of periodic helpers. Helpers by definition, come and go. Thus, they are not fully responsible. Therefore, The Buck must stop at the Primary Caregiver’s door. What he or she has established as the rules of Care Giving for that particular patient MUST be recognized as just that… ‘the rules of Care Giving’ that will be adhered to by every and any helper. Except when health and safety emergencies unexpectedly arise that bring forth the absolute requirement for immediate and necessary changes… the established rules must be followed as they have been previously ordained.

Proper Alzheimer's Support Techniques Always Generate Smiles - From All Involved!

A Caregiver providing Alzheimer’s Support is wholly responsible for the person he or she is caring for. Period. End of Story. Fittingly, as the Primary Caregiver, you must always be extremely cognizant of the acute reality that in any and all situations… ‘The Buck Stops Here’.

Whether it is food, clothing, medicine, hygiene, entertainment including television and radio programs, rest, any aspect of the care facility, discovering, acquiring and putting into place ever more complete education and care arrangements or, of course, anything else related to the proper care of the person afflicted with Alzheimer’s, the ultimate responsibility rests with the Primary Caregiver. Alone. That, by the way, includes not only ensuring the reality that… you personally …maintain the suitable skills and aptitude necessary to properly care for the Alzheimer’s patient, but that you resolve to keep abreast of where you mentally, emotionally and physically reside during the often stressful occasions that arise as a result of providing care.

Naturally, a Caregiver must remain adept
at not only handling any typical scenario
which might diminish one’s ability to provide proper care,
but also those which are a-typical.

EXAMPLE OF AN A-TYPICAL CONSIDERATION: The Primary Caregiver first of all, and secondly – Assistant Caregivers must maintain self discipline and be willing to exert whatever level of strength is required to restrict from success any person, group or entity with respect to their desire to enjoin with and in any way perhaps supersede the Primary Caregiver’s wishes relative to providing proper care. Unfortunately, if necessary that… specifically includes …immediate family members of he or she who is afflicted with Alzheimer’s Disease. Without your constant attention to the details involved in providing proper care, anyone else, even well intentioned siblings, relatives, friends, et al, can very quickly disrupt the peaceful environment you’ve established for your Alzheimer’s afflicted loved one. And as often as not, once disruption has occurred, you alone will find yourself picking up the pieces. (An Example To Learn From: Horror Story)

If any person, group or entity has already proven, or even if you suspect they for whatever reason are not able to provide or at least maintain the level of good influence upon the overall care of the afflicted person you’ve established… Keep Them Away! If not Away… then allowed visits only when supervised. Period! (To save yourself hassle, they don’t need to know that.) Never forget that you alone are responsible to allow or restrict what or whomever it is that may conflict with your ability to provide continuing, effectual care for the Alzheimer’s afflicted Victim. (We don’t want to make them into a ‘Double’ Victim.

At times… and unfortunately sometimes for a prolonged period such an unyielding stance might identify you as the proverbial ‘bad guy’ for your allowances or refusals… but so be it! After all, on a 24/7 basis, YOU are ultimately responsible for your loved one and MUST indeed do what you feel is indisputably correct for he or she for whom you provide Alzheimer’s Support.

You must also remember that that same concept,
i.e. concern for proper care,
also applies to you, the Primary Caregiver!
Specifically, your ability to maintain yourself
well enough to continue to provide ever better care.

I don’t wish to lay a ‘trip’ on you, I only emphasize this fact to help you fully recognize that whether you’ve personally chosen the path as the Primary Caregiver or, for whatever in a multitude of reasons you have simply found yourself in the position of Primary Caregiver, you do in fact now have the bull by the horns and must make more than a standard effort to always do the right thing by the Alzheimer’s afflicted person… even if it means keeping some people and their influence away from the afflicted person some or all of the time. And, of course, that also means removing yourself from the immediacy of providing hands on care when you recognize you are personally going through a period when you are having difficulty maintaining the right perspective and work ethic.

Friend, it’s vital you remember that given the ongoing stress involved, YOU might from time to time become a problem! With respect to the infinite number of not always understood ‘how to(s)‘ involved when caring for a person afflicted with Alzheimer’s, coupled with perhaps daily changes relative to the undulating mental and emotional levels of the Alzheimer’s patient, you simply have to expect there will be times when you will in some way factor into the cause of the problem at hand. That’s just the way it is! Therefore, don’t beat yourself up when you recognize you mentally or emotionally are not where you should be. Just start a course of action structured toward resolving the problem. Regroup and begin again.

Strive to remain proactive in your search for ‘helps’ for the Alzheimer’s Caregiver, which will to some degree assist you in your ability to ward off such difficulties. In your search, become sufficiently open minded to at least try most of the suggestions you find. And then resolve to become smarter than those who have offered you positive suggestions. Really! Friend, it is to everyone’s benefit if you endeavor to learn ever better approaches, angles and techniques! Then pass them along. We’re all looking to make the way easier for both the Alzheimer’s afflicted person as well as the Caregivers.

So then, if ‘The Buck Stops Here’…

‘Are You A Hindrance Or Help‘

Reminder…

‘Three Vital Essentials For Proper Alzheimer’s Care Giving‘