During this unprecedented time,  I wanted to reach out and offer some suggestions of how to use the extra down time to your advantage to try to keep your loved ones somewhat active and engaged through out the days they are at home.  Many of my clients’ families have reached out, asking for advice about several topics over the last few weeks, so I figured I would touch on a couple of them.  This week we will talk about the importance of routine.

ROUTINE IS ESSENTIAL
Part of what makes Golden Moments special, is that your loved ones are in a routine. They arrive, they have their coffee and snack. They socialize for a few, then start an activity. They finish that activity and start another one. They exercise for 40-60 min, then they have lunch. After lunch, they walk outside, or in the hallways. They start another activity. Singing and music is always part of their day. Trivia in one form or another is always part of their day. So is word search or unscrambling a word. Laughter and socializing and bantering with their friends, and with staff makes up a big part of  their day.

So while your loved one is home with you…in an effort to enhance and maintain mental clarity, and physical stamina…I encourage you to try very hard to keep them on a schedule.  It certainly does not have to be as involved as Golden Moments, after all, I have trained staff there taking turns with keeping them stimulated. But their day SHOULD be diverse, even if its every hour. Put on an educational show for an hour. Then get up and walk in the house for 15 min. Then, give them a word search. After that, get up and do knee raises or leg lifts for 10 min. Next, have them circle their arms and tilt their heads side to side for 10 min. Now put on their favorite music and have them move to the beats!! You get the idea……

Next week I will talk about difficult end of life conversations.  Why it is essential and what we should be asking.  Feel free to leave me comments below!  As always, we look forward to the time we can all meet together a Golden Moments once it is safe to do so.

Stay healthy everyone!!
Sheryl Fappiano