Creative thinkers I need your help.

“Today is the second day with in the past two weeks that my mother had to leave work to bring my grandfather to the hospital. He called my mother after throwing up. The diagnosis is simply that the man needs to eat. The root of the problem was once thought, by my family, to be that since my grandmother cooked every meal for him for over 50 years and losing her he did not know how to cook. So to solve that problem, what ever my mom cooks she allways makes an extra portion for my grandfather, all he has to do is heat it up. But he doesn't. This is wereing out my mother. Does any one have any ideas to offer that will have him eat 3 times a day, because with the medication that he is taking not eating cause drastic side effects.

Thanks”

“He'll eat when he's hungry enough.”

“tube him!

or get a prescription for marijuana!! it helpsz people with problems, mediczl that is.

Opinion, and ive seen it help!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“weed is probably your best bet.

once you smoke enough of it, you'll probably come up with a very creative solution, on your own.”

“I've seen this before. There may be nothing you can do. My ex-wifes grandpa would have let himself die, but we were fortunate enought to get him into a great home. He had the money to pay for it. It was a regular house with six elderly residents all cared for by a husband / wife team. It worked for him, he is 90 this year. I will pray for you.”

“Thanks compost. The rest of you, weed doesn't HELP.”

“Get some sexy stripper to feed him!”

“Tea:

Seen this a number of times. I think he's so heart broken that he wants to be with his life long partner. So he decided to give up to be with her. I think Compost Pile offers a great solution.

(By the way, I have some training in this area.) E-mail if you like”

“Stump, and any one ellse with reasonable solutions, my e-mail is Dom_corleone@hotmail.com”

“Hey, tea, does your community have meals on wheels? I know here, they accept commission runs - that is, they take meals to people who can afford it, if their families will pay for the service. It's not expensive, and I doubt your grandfather will turn away from food heated and placed in front of him. The company, however brief, wouldn't hurt either.

You could also bypass the service altogether, if you know a realiable person who would do this for a small fee...”

“First and foremost be a suport to your mother. Take some of the burden from her and help her out by maybe taking over the food details a few days a week. As bad as this seams for you never forget that it's her father and I can imagine it's twice as hard for her. The meals on wheels thing is a great idea.

Good luck with your family T.”

“My Grandmother got Meals on Wheels for a while. She's in a nursing home now though. I joke with her about all the old people having Wheelchair races in the hall on Sunday afternoon. Now that would be a riot to watch! LOL!!!!”

“Tea, did you get any of those Alzheimers books? Poor eating is a common problem, there may be some suggestions in them.

It may be a matter of somebody getting the food out for him, heating it up, sitting with him and reminding him to eat.”

“Alzheimers??? Maybe he's just forgetting to eat.”

“I think this is not a time for humor for Ice Tea's situation.

I usually try to imput humor, don't think is the time.

He's counting on us.”

“find a way to get him stimulated mentally and physically if he is capable. visit with him as much as possible. instead of leaving the meals for him to eat later, give him company while he eats. if she was his company at the dinner table for 50 years it is going to be hard to adjust to eating alone (it will make him miss her even more). get him out to socialize with others at his own pace.”

“Stumprider
There is always time for humor. Without humor this world would suck.”

“i'm with rad on this...the other night i found i had eaten 3 big limes...by themselves..and a bag of goldfish crackers...”

“Meals on wheels is a good program. I don't know your situation, but is it possible for you all to live together? He may just be depressed from being lonely.”

“hey tea, I know a family that set their Dad up in a "half way" house. The family keep a house for a few elderly with dementia. It allowed them to live in a home like atmosphere, but with more attention than one person can give, around the clock. It worked well for them.”

“I've heard of meals on wheels. I have been trying to avoid that partly because I do not want to admit that a great man like my grandfather needs to pay for some one to feed him. I hope that it does not come down to meals on wheels.

But thanks for the ideas.”

“Does anyone eat with him?
Company helps.

Also, taste buds fade with age --- maybe if he has access to some condiments? When my grandfather hit 90 he started using food with pepper-sauce on everything.”

“Can he live with someone? My dad was living alone after my mother died two years ago (They were married 51 years). He took good relatively good care of himself, but the loneliness and big house stressed him out. A year ago he moved to Oregon to live with my sister. He is much happier now.”

“Ice tea,
I understand where you are coming from. My Grandmother is in close to the same situation. She basically raised me, and I hate to think of her as anything less than the independent person I remember her as from my childhood.

But facts are facts. She wouldn't be eating if she didn't go daily to a senior center that we enrolled her in. She really only eats one good meal each day, unless one of us is in town.

I hope it works out well for you and your grandfather. I'm sure you want to do what's best for him now, despite whatever image of him may be changed for you.”

“Tea, this is a very common problem. A lot of elderly rely on Ensure (a meal drink) and softer foods that don't require a lot of energy chewing. Maybe you or your Mom can try some spicy polenta, couscous, tapioca pudding, hunters soup and other soups (homemade if possible or from a deli). But having company while eating would help. Are there any group settings that your grandfather would enjoy during the day? My grandfather spent his widower years at a Princeton club playing cards and socializing. He even tried to learn how to play a portable organ for entertaining his friends. But he only ate well while in the company of his friends.”

“Just give him some company and give your ma some support. They both need it.”

“Sounds like a case of broken heart/ depression. Maybe you could go over there and offer to use Grandma's cookbooks and whip up his favorite? Maybe look for a recipe you could use on a camp-out. Make it seem as though you need his help in finding the perfect recipe.
Its really sad, Tea. Your Grandma probably needed him, now he may feel un-needed - a burden.
Hopefully his docs can offer solutions/aids.”

“They are telling us the same stuff that you are. This bothers me alot that my grandfather, the man that once change my dipers, I have to now take care of him.”

“I was not much older that you are when I had to take care of my grandmother. My grandfather had died when I was 18 A couple of years later my sister and I took turns keeping each other's kids and traded weeks taking care of grandma. I know we were young but there was no one else to do it. I would not trade that time spent with her for anything.”

“Tea, there is a special on tonight.


ALZHEIMER'S: MY MOM, OUR JOURNEY


Sunday, April 28, 2002 MSNBC presents a documentary by Julie Meisner Eagle in association with Film Garden Entertainment

Hosted by David Hyde Pierce

10 pm Eastern
9 pm Central
8 pm Mountain
7 pm Pacific


ALZHEIMER'S: MY MOM, OUR JOURNEY is an intimate documentary of one family's courageous battle with an unstoppable disease - Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease. Typically considered a disease reserved for the elderly, this rare form of Alzheimer's affects those between the ages of thirty and sixty or 400,000 Americans. ”