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Hernando Today

Wandering Is A Hazard

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 12, 2009

At 2:35 a.m. one morning I was awakened to the clanking sound of my father's walker.

Laying still listening to assure myself I actually heard Dad moving around, the distinctive sound of the backdoor opening brought me instantly to my feet. "Where are we going?" I asked as if we're a team. "I've got to take a leak," was his retort.

Dad's confusion from Alzheimer's had him believing he was in his childhood home where the only plumbing was the outhouse in the backyard.

This is a dangerous situation. Just the darkness would have magnified his confusion to the point he might not have found his way back to the house or he might have fallen laying there for hours. Morning would dawn and he would be found nowhere.

I'm fortunate that Dad isn't very mobile; that he needs a walking device which rattles louder than a provoked rattlesnake. Believe me, I've gone through my share of warning devices that let me know when he's on the move.

First: A baby monitor hidden in his bedroom closet. I was impressed with the clarity of how well it picked up every little sound. It even resounded the toilet flushing; but after laying awake night-after-night listening to him snore I moved on to another device.

This one proved to be less than a stroke of genius: Stuffed parrot toys with a motion-detector built inside that squawked loud enough to wake the dead when anyone passed by. Positioned at the front and backdoor, they worked extremely well except for the fact they almost gave everybody heart attacks.

Then I finally moved on to placing deadbolts at the top of the doorframes. The only problem I'm having with this is that he occasionally locks me out of the house.

Find out what works best for your situation. There are many variables when dealing with memory-impaired patients. Remember, every Alzheimer's patient responds differently.

At one time or another we've all been to a store or mall, then walked outside and couldn't recall where we'd parked. A feeling of panic virtually overwhelms us for a few seconds. Imagine this happening to you several times a day - everyday.

Alzheimer's patients sometimes don't remember where to go. Signs throughout their house might be helpful. Position a sign on the bathroom door, write it out or just place a picture of a toilet on it.

A good part of the time when you find them outside is only because they couldn't figure out what they originally started out to do. Background noise could also be a factor. The sound of someone knocking on a television program might send them to the front door.

Have an ID bracelet made for them. The Alzheimer's Association has a safe return program so you can have one made for your loved one. If they're still carrying a wallet make sure that it contains a list of contact numbers and addresses.

Being lost will increase their confusion and they might become belligerent or verbally abusive. Strangers just trying to help them might be in for a handful.

I have a close friend whose father suffers from the same disease. Once she had the police department along with their recovery dogs and helicopters searching for her dad almost a full day.

They finally discovered him sitting in a similar looking apartment in the same complex, alone in someone's living room chair wearing their new host's pink fluffy slippers, watching television and eating ice-cream.

No harm came to him, but this was an unusally fortunate situation.

The dangers involved when a wandering memory-impaired patient is unsupervised are countless.

Gary Joseph Le Blanc is the primary caregiver of his father who has been stricken with Alzheimer's disease for more than eight years. He can be written c/o Hernando Today at 15299 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville, FL 34613 or e-mailed at us41books@ bellsouth.net

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