Would you go with an Alzheimer's parent?

[newbydisney]

I say go BUT is there someone that could go with and help...give you a break now and then ...another family member?..if not I think I would contact an agency maybe someone here knows of one ..and see if you can get some help maybe just a few hours a day from a pro ....if there is anyway you can afford that or if her insurance would pay it would be nice to have some back-up...
sorry if someone already suggested this I didn't read the entire thread..

 

[fairykin]

In December.. my husband and i are taking our three grandchildren ( ages 6, and twin 4 year olds) also my mother and his father and mother, who has Alzheimer's.

I know this will be a challenging trip..however we are going to approach it laid back.. with rest stops often and lingering lunches.

We are not going to be the first ones to the park or the last ones to leave. We won't see everything.

YET, i will be giving my grandchildren a very special memory with their great grandmother.

And giving my husband a special memory with his mother on her last trip.

I wish You safe travel and comfort with whatever decision you make.

*hug*

 

[disneydeb]

I hope you are able to take her. I am a geriatic nurse in a long term care facility, and the majority of my residents are alzheimer's patients in various stages. I think it comes down to a matter of trust. Does she trust you? If you are her main caregiver, she proberly does, you must know how to handle outbursts, calm voice, gentle approach, maybe some seroquel. Do you trust yourself taking her? It sounds like your mind is already made up , if you feel you can handle her i say go for it! if you need to they have first aid stations where you can proberly get her to, so you all can regroup and take a few quiet moments, sometimes watching people or the ducks or a quiet out of the way spot maybe all you need for a few moments.My biggest concern would be if she sundowns. I would also make her wear on id in case she does wander. Most of my residents are happiest when their familys come and take them out. like on holidays, and their families tell me when they bring them back that my residents have no problem telling them when they 've had enough.Does she take a nap in the afternoon? if so plan that into her vacation too so she doesnt get over tired.most elderly i find love children and will talk to and smile at everyone they see. This vacation might do her some good, as she proberly read you disney stories and took you to see the movies. I'm sure she'll reconize the disney characters and stories , the emporium and the old fashioned ice cream parlors and costumes, magic kingdom will proberly delight her. here's sending you some pixie dust.

 

[Bete]

I think the trip went rather well to Wisconsin with my mom. She was given an anti-anxiety drug for the trip. It was a very low dosage and we didn't over do it with the meds, either, but I think it took off the edge for her.

I believe for WDW we may do the same thing with an anti-anxiety drug for that trip. Also, I do have a caretaker agency lined up for my mom; so, she doesn't get overloaded about the trip and the surroundings of WDW. She will spend most of her day with this outside help while we enjoy the parks. We will let mom enjoy the parks to her level of satisfaction. If she skips a day of a park; so, be it. If she gets troubled in a half hour inside the parks we will leave. I don't think you can push on any level, here.

I'm still not convinced of doing the trip, but I haven't given up on the idea, yet. The Wisconsin trip was actually better in some ways then being at home in her natural surroundings.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

I'm glad it went to so well!

You are a wonderful and considerate daughter.

Blessings on your family as you make magical memories!

 

[SueM in MN]

I think the trip went rather well to Wisconsin with my mom. She was given an anti-anxiety drug for the trip. It was a very low dosage and we didn't over do it with the meds, either, but I think it took off the edge for her.

I believe for WDW we may do the same thing with an anti-anxiety drug for that trip. Also, I do have a caretaker agency lined up for my mom; so, she doesn't get overloaded about the trip and the surroundings of WDW. She will spend most of her day with this outside help while we enjoy the parks. We will let mom enjoy the parks to her level of satisfaction. If she skips a day of a park; so, be it. If she gets troubled in a half hour inside the parks we will leave. I don't think you can push on any level, here.

I'm still not convinced of doing the trip, but I haven't given up on the idea, yet. The Wisconsin trip was actually better in some ways then being at home in her natural surroundings.

Glad to hear your trial trip went well.
Sounds like you have planned well and hope everything goes exactly to plan.

 

[SueM in MN]

I don't really have much to add to the great advice you got already, but here are some other recent threads dealing with Alzheimers that might have some hints:
Aug 08 thread about doing Disney with Alzheimers

June 08 thread about Disney with Alzheimers

 

[Bete]

Glad to hear your trial trip went well.
Sounds like you have planned well and hope everything goes exactly to plan.

The more I learn the better it should be!

 

[Bete]

I couldn't resist that free dining offer. I feel if the trip flops at least I'm not out the dining cost for us.

First, let me say we had a zoo day here in Indy and spent about 4 hours without a break going everywhere to see the animals. We went out to eat after we left the park. My mom is not keen on zoos but we wanted to see how this would work. She had two small outbursts, but it wasn't horrible. We did not give her any anxiety pills for that outing.

My mom is not an early riser and hubby is a mid-morning person. We are all retired. I think I will solo in the parks and take advantage of EMH for early in the morn at the designated park for it. Hubby likes to read a newspaper in the morning and he can be my babysitter; because, more than likely mom will sleep. We are going by car; so, I will bring along some items for a light breakfast and some snacks for the room. When I get back late morn I'll get my mom ready and dressed. We will have an early lunch most days using the food court. We may even eat in our room if my mom is having any anxiety. If the anxiety is bad then I will give her an anti-anxiety pill. This worked well with our Wisconsin trip.

Our park day together will begin early afternoon. We will concentrate on shows, parades and entertainment. We will hit only a few rides. If she has an outburst we will try and find a quiet place to relax for a while in the park. Most days we have our TS meal between 5 and 6 pm. It will be up to my mom whether she wants to continue for the evening with the park after dinner. If not, I think half the time hubby will be willing to go back with her and I will solo again for the evening. By the way, hubby is 70 years old and diabetic; so, he won't be doing Disney commando style himself, either. We both have been there over two dozen times to Disney; so, we don't need to be in the parks for long days. I'll shorten my time alone in the parks, too if it helps. If hubby wants to be together for the evenings we will get a caretaker from an agency for my mom. I have two, reputable places lined up.

All the above is subject to change depending on my mom. I will change whatever to make her feel good including getting a caretaker for even more time if she rather stay at the resort. I even pre-ordered the photopass CD.

Believe it or not we are starting to talk about an east coast historical trip for next year including Williamsburg.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

I do so hope you will find many small magical moments with your dear mother!

We find it's often the small moments that make the sweetest memories.

Have a wonderful trip!! (where did you decide to stay?).

 

[teruterubouzu]

I'm eager to hear how your trip goes. My mom is 64 and has dementia (we haven't pursued getting an alzheimer's diagnosis). I'd love to take her and my dad to Walt Disney World, but between her issues and my dad's wheelchair I'm scared. I really hope your trip goes well and that you have a wonderful and relaxing time.

 

[Bete]

We are off starting tomorrow. I have never been more prepared in my life for any trip. We even got a flu shot before the trip. I can actually relax today, Friday.

I'll try and post by 11/22 the results of the trip. We are even meeting up with an old classmate of my hubby for a meal towards the end of the trip.

The only dissappointing situation is rain is going to be part of our trip. I hope my mom doesn't get too hyper about it or sick from it.

Thanks for everyone's kind thoughts.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

I'm so glad you psoted - have been thinking about you and wodnering how the plan was coming along.

Sending loads of good wishes for a calm and delightful memory filled trip.

Take good care...
Godspeed!

 

[ireland_nicole]

Great to hear from you! Sounds like you've planned well, now to relax and enjoy this time together. I'm praying that you have a wonderful trip; please report back to us when you get home.
Nicole

 

[Twende]

Bete, I didn't see to post in this thread but some of my posts were linked above.

I hope you have a wonderful trip with your mom!

We leave soon for another Christmas trip. I will have lots of help this year as we have planned a family reunion trip. There are 17 of us going. On second thought it might be easier if it were just me and my parents!

I will be looking forward to your update when you return!

 

[Bete]

Well, we are back. We survived!

I will start out with the good. We accomplished everything I planned for the parks and then some. I may have underestimated on this count, but it was nice to get in even more than what I expected.

My mom smiled everytime a character greeted her. This included parades and meet and greets. With being in a wheelchair, it seemed that the characters were extra nice to her. I appreciated the attention she received.

We had two, private photo sessions at the Animal Kingdom Lodge and the Wilderness Lodge. We ended up with about 90 pictures from these sessions. I didn't think my mom would cooperate doing this, but she did. I've never had so many pictures of my mom all at once, especially in her later years.

She was alert for certain shows and parades and I felt she was able to get some enjoyment from them. There was a twinkle in her eyes, here and there.

It had been a very long time since I had any kind of vacation with my mom; so, it was even more special being together in my favorite place.

We had a couple of special moments, too. I created Disney park posters for the sides of my mom's wheelchair. At MK they were noticed by a cast member from the Buzz Lightyear ride. The poster stated my mom was a first timer and 87 years young. Anyways, she asked us to wait a little and she would return with a good suprise. Well, she did! We were given yellow sheets made out for a free ice cream for our party of three. We were given two more yellow sheets that acted as fastpasses for us to go on anything in the park. I told my mom it was all in her honor. Of course, she received her first timer button, too. We were given Buzz Lightyear stickers and we rode the ride twice in a row without getting off. I asked if this was part of the million dreams and she said no; it was solely done because my mom was a first timer. By the way, my mom actually scored in the Buzz Lightyear ride. I thought she would maybe just sit there, but she didn't. Our next experience entailed a cast member in the POP food court on our last day. She approached our booth and started talking to us while we were eating. Anyway, after making conversation for a while she pulled out three tinkerbell pins and gave one to each of us. She told us these pins are not sold; they are part of the million dreams give away. I was very pleased with getting a pin that's special and limited.

Well, that's the good in a nutshell. Stay tune for the rest. I want to be honest; so, I will say what was not so peachy, as well.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

You've been in my thoughts often and have been waiting for your return post.

It had been a very long time since I had any kind of vacation with my mom; so, it was even more special being together in my favorite place.

Well this was worth everything, yes? Certainly brought a tear to my eye. You have been a brave and very loving daughter.

Did you stay at POP? How did your mom do with all the icons? Hope you had a nice soothing lake view.

So glad you are all home safe and sound.

 

[LindaDVC]

Glad you had a lot of good moments!

One time I was mentioning problems we have had at various vacations --
(chair breaking down, van died, Dan getting pneumonia, problems with a room, etc) and A friend said she would never want to go vacationing with us!

I responded that vacations are the best weeks of our lives and though we have some "non-peachy" moments -- we still have plenty of great moments !

When the traveling party is a quadraplegic, 89 and 91 year old parents, a diabetic and an ADHD kid -- their are bound to be some issues but you have to enjoy the positive moments! Glad you found plenty of those !

Glad you have so many pictures to remember it all too!

 

[Ms_Butterfly]

Sounds like your trip was a fantastic, successful memory-maker!!

Sounds like your mom experienced much Disney magic just from being there, not to mention the kind things the CMs did for her.

I'm so glad you went and took her!

 

[Bete]

To be fair we did have some ups and downs.

Getting ready in the morning was a killer. We seldom left the room before 10:30am. I know for some that doesn't sound too bad, but I'm use to being out of the room for early entry each day. Mom had some outbursts getting ready each day. This put a little damper on the start of the day, but fortunately it got better through the day.

My husband is not use to being in the same bedroom with my mom. Besides the obvious, he had a hard time with her snoring; although, he snores, too. It did give him some restless nights. He wore earplugs and he still had a hard time. I have to admit between the two of them snoring; I felt like I was experiencing stereo snoring. I feel for any other vacation we might do, I'm going for a condos/villas with at least 2 BDRs and baths from now on.

Without mom's hearing aid on (not worn while sleeping), mom can speak rather loudly. When she had her night time visits to the bathroom, she was on the loud side with me. I'm usually there to help. I was concerned for my neighbors at the resort and for hubby. She can be nasty at night. I didn't want to disturb anybody. This happened on the average twice a night. Hubby was bothered by it a few times during our stay and it affected his sleep.

My mom had a problem with some dinner TS meals that were ala carte. She didn't eat as well as I would have liked her to at those places. She was better with buffet places. She did fine with all our counter service meals including Tangerine Cafe in Morocco.

There were some shows my mom took a nap like Beauty and the Beast and Nemo at AK. She didn't sleep through it all, but I think it was hard for her to follow the show that way.

Well, that sums up this portion.