美国英雄.

詹姆斯患有中度痴呆，以及其他几种慢性疾病. 但作为一名美国退伍军人，詹姆斯很早就表现出了自己的坚强和适应力.  Over 75 years ago, James was drafted to WWII at age eighteen. 在乔治·S将军的领导下. 巴顿, 他参加了布鲁日战役，这是二战期间德国在西线的最后一次主要攻势. Then, in March 1945, he fought at the Rhine River Crossing. 他的孙女杰姬说:“和他一起战斗的大多数人都没有回来。. “His tank was blown up by a land mine, and he got shrapnel in his left leg. He was awarded the Purple Heart. 他是个铁石心肠的家伙.”

家庭生活

从战场回来后, 詹姆斯成家立业，为通用汽车开货车谋生. “He drove all over the United States,杰基说。. “Driving was a passion for him.”

Throughout his granddaughters’ childhood, James was nearby.

杰基说:“我的整个童年都住在离我们四所房子远的地方. He was a big part of my life growing up. 他见证了每一个里程碑，每一项体育赛事——甚至当我的父母不能到场的时候. 他与我和我的两个妹妹有着特殊的关系，每个人都有不同的方式.”

许下的承诺

Shortly before James’ wife passed away of leukemia thirteen years ago, 她让她的孙女们答应在家里照顾詹姆斯. And the sisters took this to heart. After their grandmother died, 他们搬去和詹姆斯住在一起，继续他们祖母曾经做过的工作, 比如做饭, 支付账单, 洗衣服.

“She had done everything for him,杰基说。 and laughs. “He couldn’t write a check or boil water.”

杰基说, “我的一些朋友不理解我搬去照顾爷爷的决定. 但当我奶奶去世后，我似乎很自然地要回报他. 他是我们的第二个父亲. Our goal has always been to keep him in his house as long as possible.”

Complications as James Gets Older

起初，詹姆斯的孙女们主要只是在家里做家务. “Up until three years ago, he was even still driving,杰基说。. But over time, James’ cognitive function began to decline.

“We realized he had some form of dementia coming on,杰基说。. “It was getting harder for him to get out of the house. He refused to socialize anymore and was forgetting things. 慢慢地，我们不得不把一些事情拿走，比如他的驾驶，并开始自己做.”

James also had issues with severe stenosis of his lower spine. This caused muscle decline, instability and loss of balance. Ultimately, James began falling and injuring himself. “我姐姐和我是两个女人，我自己也做过几次背部手术，”杰基说. “My grandfather is a big guy at 200 pounds. When he falls, it is a problem for us to help him.”

詹姆斯开始因为痛风发作而要求去急诊室.

杰基说, “When he told us he needed to go to the hospital, we knew there was something very wrong. This is a man who was wounded in combat. 他从不抱怨. He is tough, and physical pain doesn’t seem to bother him. When he tells us something is wrong, we know it is really an emergency.”

杰基指出:“需要两个人和一辆轮椅才能把他带出家门.”

Things were getting more difficult as time passed. 杰基说:“由于痴呆症的影响，我的祖父有时很有攻击性. He experienced 幻觉. 他会在半夜打开外面的门，这对他来说很危险.”

James was resistant to doing what his family suggested for him. 他拒绝洗澡，也很谦虚，不让家人帮他洗澡. 当他们需要离开他一小段时间时，他不会戴上医疗警报装置.

杰基说:“他甚至不愿意在床边放个马桶，也不愿意使用Depends®。.

所以，越来越多的时候，詹姆斯的家人会在他大小便失禁后进行清理.  杰基说, “It became more stressful. Alzheimer’s disease is a hard thing to deal with.”

James was becoming too difficult to handle. He was agitated during the day and confused at night. Jackie recalls, “By that time, we were desperate. We knew things had to get better, or something was going to have to change.”

里程碑式的步骤

当Landmark第一次伸出援手时，詹姆斯的家人已经到了穷途末路的地步. Upon arrival, the Landmark physician, Dr. Anthony Zizza, found Jackie in tears, not knowing what to do. But he was able to build an immediate relationship during that first visit.

杰基说，“医生. 齐扎用一种退伍军人都能理解的方式，非常专业地跟我祖父说话. 他在一开始就能很好地与病人建立联系——这就是我祖父接受他的建议的原因.”

Landmark医疗团队审查了詹姆斯的处方，发现多种药物可以解释他的攻击行为, 幻觉, 和尿失禁. Landmark还回顾了詹姆斯的饮食，发现了可能导致尿失禁的食物. 慢慢地, 詹姆斯的饮食得到了改善, and he was weaned off blood pressure medication, 胆固醇药物, and an antipsychotic medication.

“我祖父停药后，他的情绪得到了更好的控制. He no longer experiences 幻觉. 他仍然有一些感官问题，但没有那么严重，”杰基说.

此外, 具有里程碑意义的团队 护士和社会工作者帮助这个家庭在家里获得了额外的服务, 以及社区资源和退伍军人管理局提供的额外援助.

经过几次拜访和与詹姆斯的初级保健医生的定期沟通, 詹姆斯开始进步了. He was sleeping through the night and was no longer incontinent of bowels. 他吃得更现金足球网哪个好, 代理平静, 最好保持平衡, and had services in place so he could shower daily. The family was able to help him control his gout at home, rather than making emergency visits to the hospital.

持续的支持

As part of their ongoing support, Landmark helped Jackie and her sister, 吉尔, create a schedule to share the workload and decrease caregiver stress.

And Landmark helps James’ family navigate through the VA system. “Landmark最好的事情之一就是他们如何帮助协调护理，”杰基说. 琼是这个家庭的标志性护理经理，她经常打电话给杰基寻求帮助.

Because James refused to wear a medical alert system, Dr. Zizza suggested a video monitoring system instead. “Once we installed the video monitoring system, it was a big improvement in peace of mind for us, 作为护理人员,杰基说。.

詹姆斯继续按照与Landmark之前相同的时间表去看他的初级保健医生. “Landmark与我祖父的初级保健医生现在哪个平台可以买球，”杰基说. “Landmark sends him notes from their visits.”

杰基说, “Landmark offers great quality of care. When we call, they always get back to us with a response right away. 他们知道我是谁. 他们知道我们的故事. 我们都是直呼其名的——我觉得自己与整个Landmark系统联系紧密. I trust that when we reach out, they won’t leave us hanging.”

杰基说, “Landmark helps us in so many ways. They’re just a phone call away. The 24-hour access to assistance is huge. We finally have a resource to help us navigate our challenges. I feel like I have a relationship with Landmark. It’s nice to know that they’re always there.”

Improved Quality of Life for the Whole Family

詹姆斯的家人非常感谢Landmark通过老年专家提供的服务, nursing support and mobilization of community resources.  杰基说:“我有时会想，如果地标没有进入我们的生活会怎么样? How do other families of Alzheimer’s patients manage without Landmark? I don’t know where we’d be if it weren’t for this company. It’s really a mental thing for us, 作为护理人员. 重要的是要知道地标会在我们需要的时候帮助我们.”

距离Landmark介入帮助詹姆斯和他的家人还不到一年的时间. “在这么短的时间内，我们已经看到了重大的进步，”杰基说. “我爷爷更开心了. He is not having as many falls. 而且自从Landmark介入后他就没再住院过. Things aren’t perfect, of course. But we’re having a lot fewer bad days than before.”

Jackie这样总结了她在Landmark的经历:“如果我们曾经想要放弃, Landmark is there to pick up the pieces. Landmark is a lifesaver, honestly.”