2019-09-05_lisazucker_Value Added Loevinsohns.docx

Lisa’s Reflections on Household Changes Chez Helga Loevinsohn

Michael has asked me to put forward some thoughts on how my presence changes the dynamics of Helga’s household. I respectfully submit my impressions:

So far, there has had to be an organization of 7 caregivers coming through each week. Certain things have therefore had to be institutionalized. Certain foods have been set out in the fridge in equal portions (eg soup). Caregivers are not likely to have known if they were replicating some or all of the meal given the day before. The soup I make for Helga is customized to her health need and taste (purée of carrot and yam purée with beta carotene to heal lung tissue and coconut milk said to ease memory loss). Main dishes can be timed each day to enhance diversity. Quick morning trips to Adonis could be immensely helpful in improving freshness and diversity. It also takes advantage of on-the-spot sales. These shopping trips would help the household economy and  save time for Maria.

There are a lot of commercially prepared products in the kitchen eg pre-chopped and pre-packaged salad so that each caregiver can take a handful. Pre-chopping lettuce causes the folate to drain and dry out. As the main cook, I would buy an entire Romaine lettuce and help to consume it in due time. Why fuss about folate? See “Folic Acid Supplementation Mitigates Alzheimer’s Disease by Reducing Inflammation: A Randomized Controlled Trial”  in Mediators of Inflammation, Vol 2016, Article ID5922146.

My being in the house on a daily basis can help Maria be aware if any stock is running low (pills, fruits) and do the pharmacy order directly from the pill bottle (with her agreement).

Maria and I collaborated on the bedroom transformation—I researched and shopped for the bed and she arranged the movement of the furniture.

I’ve been able to take care of some technical issues when Maria hasn’t been there. It took two visits from security downstairs to arrange the television with Bell. Apparently, unplugging the wiring frequently undoes the codes. This has been important to Helga’s nighttime stimulation. I await your comments on buying Helga a hairdryer. She’s been going out of the bath without hairdrying thus far.

Maria has noted that my taking Helga to the pool in the morning puts her into better spirits for the afternoon outing with Maria. I will go further and say that helping Helga through the morning shower is “taking one for the team”—exorcising the morning protests to make for a better day.

I would exchange aluminum foil in stove element trays and the catch tray inside for more durable aluminum products with less off-gassing. Traces of aluminum have been found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Product durability helps.

The combination of vaginal atrophy and incontinence create a receptive environment for bladder infections. It would be a tremendous boon if the brothers could contribute their expertise in research to evaluate the potential of estriol as a therapy for bladder infections such as I have found in the New England Journal of Medicine. General practitioners have no personal incentive to do the reading on dosage. The therapy succeeded  with my mother.

Reimbursements: I am hoping Benjamin wouldn’t mind receiving my receipts for food purchases. It seems to me that photos of receipts provide the greatest transparency (can’t be faked) but if preferred, I could also submit an Excel sheet. I don’t have any extravagant purchases in mind, although I would upgrade the value of certain foods (juice not from concentrate, oil cold pressed, low salt soy sauce and bouillon). Tim Thomas has received receipts for the first three weekends since Maria was not in a position to take this on.

It seems there is a question about my capacity for independent work. Please recall that I took charge of an entire household for a couple in Arundel, providing rehab to the post-stroke wife and ADL to the husband with vascular dementia, hospital issues for both.

I am ready to make my home with Helga. I would like to be there 7 days a week, with four 4-hour respites when the companions are there. Up until now, I have been doing weekend trials. I have had to maintain my 6h wakeup hour to keep the rhythm for return to work, even though Helga likes to stay up until11h30-12  in the evening. I look forward to our two-week trial which will allow me a more natural sleep cycle.