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About Mary Gordon
(Top Expert on this page)

Expertise
Several years direct experience as caregiver for family member who died of end stage AD. Did lots of research and dealt with a lot of health care professionals and caregivers over the 7 years from diagnosis to the end. Used various care options from community based resources to increasing levels of institutional. Mother of three, two born during our loved one's decline, so I know what it is to be the ham in the sandwich, taking care of the older generation and the younger at the same time and trying to balance everyone`s needs. Ask me, I`ve probably been there, done that. We made lost of mistakes and learned everything the hard way - but you don`t have to! If I can`t answer your question, I`ll steer you to a place or person who can.

Experience
Currently a program manager for a large utility company. My Alzheimers experience comes from having the illness in our family. Out of necessity, we did a lot of research in order to understand the disease, plan for what might come next, and make the right decisions to help and support our loved one. Please note, I am a Canadian living in Toronto, and therefore am not the best person to ask about US regulations and insurance rules!
   

You are here:  Experts > People/Relationships > Senior Health > Alzheimer`s Disease

SubjectDate AskedExpert

dementia11/7/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My husband had a massive stroke in Jan 08, resulting in left side paralysis and progressive ...
  A: to register complaints against Nursing Home or Hospitals in Maine, you can call the complaint ...
dementia11/6/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My husband had a massive stroke in Jan 08, resulting in left side paralysis and progressive ...
  A: If he has been treated the way you describe, it's a good thing he's out of that place! He deserves ...
Not sleeping in the nursing home11/6/2009Paula Damgaard
  Q: My Mother began showing short-term memory loss and confusion about 7 years ago. She was diagnosed ...
  A: Julia, my 1st thoughts as I started reading were: she might have a urinary tract infection. While I ...
Early Onset Alzheimer's CRYING11/6/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My father is going to be 82 next May, his wife (my Stepmother) is only 63 and has been dealing with ...
  A: you need the support of a neurologist or psychiatrist who have a specialty in dementias. It sounds ...
dementia11/5/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My husband had a massive stroke in Jan 08, resulting in left side paralysis and progressive ...
  A: is the reason they are rejecting him because he is physically combatative ? I ask because if he is ...
What to do now?11/3/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My Mother (78) was diagnosed with Alzheimer's in 2005. Since then she's had stints put in her heart ...
  A: at what point do you go for comfort measures to keep her out of pain and distress, and just strive ...
Levels of Alzheimer's11/2/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: Are there standards used to judge how bad the Alzheimer's is in a person? Amazing how bad off ...
  A: below my signature I've pasted the most commonly used set of "stages". Your Dad sounds like he is in ...
walking & walking with head down11/1/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My mother was diagnosed with dementia/Alzheimer in approx 2005.She recently stopped walking ,it was ...
  A: eating problems are also a common problem. By this stage, she will have lost a lot of her sense of ...
My ex husband10/31/2009Paula Damgaard
  Q: I have been divorced for almost nine years from the father of my two children who are 10 and 12. ...
  A: Rhonda, First of all you are NOT cold hearted!! If you ask me his siblings are the coldhearted ...
Possible Stroke/Alzhiemers10/30/2009Paula Damgaard
  Q: My mother-in-law will be 96 next month. In the last 6 - 9 months she has progressivley gone down ...
  A: Linda, have you checked her urine? 99.5% of the time when we see dementia patients turn that ...
Medical Health Insurance for Alzheimer's patients10/26/2009Michalene Peticca
  Q: My mother lives in FL and was diagnosed with AD last year. I have been unhappy with her health ...
  A: Your question is very interesting and i'm not exactly sure what you mean by "coverage for ...
My father has Dementia10/26/2009Paula Damgaard
  Q: My father has had Dementia for the past fifteen years. This past week I have a hard time getting him ...
  A: the problem is the disease. As people go through the disease, they go through stages just like we ...
agitation10/26/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: I have been caring for a 94-year old Grandmother with Alzheimers for over two years now, but she had ...
  A: the UTI alone can be enough to really plunge a person into a spiral mentally. I'm not sure what the ...
Weightloss10/25/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: What concerns me, is the fact that she is losing weight very fast. She cant eat by herself anymore, ...
  A: sounds like you do have some very valid concerns. If she has hunger and will eat, and is losing ...
Weightloss10/24/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: What concerns me, is the fact that she is losing weight very fast. She cant eat by herself anymore, ...
  A: It's very common for a person with late stage Alzheimers to begin to lose weight steadily. As you ...
Diagnosis10/20/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My 83 year old father has a cognitive disorder, but I have yet to get a real diagnosis as to what it ...
  A: The term "dementia" is not a diagnosis, as I know you realize. It is a term like "fever". It ...
Early stage Alzheimer's10/19/2009Michalene Peticca
  Q: My 75 yr old mother has been experiencing short term memory problems for a couple years. She is now ...
  A: I am very glad your mother has made the decision on her own to move to an Assisted Living. That ...
general anesthesia and surgery for hip fracture10/17/2009Paula Damgaard
  Q: I need help, my mother fell, had hip surgery had 3 screws inserted into hip, at a time still not ...
  A: you are right it will affect her dementia, but you don't have much choice! You can't leave her in ...
Down's Syndrome and AD10/17/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: I wrote once before and greatly appreciated the response to my question. I questioned the grimacing ...
  A: I'm glad she's feeling more content - you must be relieved. It doubles the heartbreak when the ...
Long hours sleeping10/16/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My dad is 85, has moderate Alzheimer's and dementia. At home he would sleep 20-22 hours each day. ...
  A: Many people with progressive neurological damage will experience excessive sleepiness and lethargy - ...
Long hours sleeping10/16/2009Paula Damgaard
  Q: My dad is 85, has moderate Alzheimer's and dementia. At home he would sleep 20-22 hours each day. ...
  A: we are not sure why some dementia patients sleep like your father and why some don't sleep at all! ...
Sleeping long hours10/16/2009Michalene Peticca
  Q: My dad is 85, has moderate Alzheimer's and dementia. At home he would sleep 20-22 hours each day. ...
  A: Most individuals in the later stages of Alzheimer's disease do tend to sleep a lot. It is not ...
alzheimer10/15/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: my mom has progressive supra nuclear palls, she complains about nervousness, agitation and her head ...
  A: the dementia that can come from progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP)is different than the dementia ...
digestion10/12/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My sister has early-onset Alzheimer's. She is only 59 but is already almost non-verbal (except for ...
  A: Your poor sister!! Constipation is a common problem for people with Alzheimer's disease. It's most ...
Mother10/12/2009Michalene Peticca
  Q: My mother is 77 years old. She fell and broke her hip in August. The doctor's sent her to rehab but ...
  A: I am so very sorry about your mother. It sounds like this has been a significant decline for her ...
Mom's rages10/9/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My mother has LBD and is quite agitated when I call her. I don't know how to calm her. How has ...
  A: although they can't use things like conventional neuroleptics (the antipsychotics like haloperidol), ...
Mother in Stage 710/5/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: Mary, We moved my mother into an Alzheimer's nursing home at the beginning of August. At first she ...
  A: any time there is a precipitous decline like this, something has happened other than the progress of ...
End Stage Dementia10/4/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My mom is 85 years old and suffering from dementia (multi infarct). She was hospitalized in May 2009 ...
  A: its very hard to know how long she can continue like this. However, as you know, even people who are ...
facilities that accept level 7 ad10/1/2009Michalene Peticca
  Q: Once again, we have been told that my father needs to be placed somewhere else because the ...
  A: I am so sorry about your father! That is so undignified for him and for your family, but a common ...
Stage 7 Care9/28/2009Paula Damgaard
  Q: My father had a heart attack in 1999, and was diagnosed with demetia at that time. He was 75. Dad is ...
  A: In the state of Virginia where I live, someone in your father's condition would qualify for Hospice. ...
UTI in an 81 year old9/28/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My mother is 81 and suffers from AD, as well as Hep C, Type 2 diabites and is in a wheelchair. My ...
  A: yes, absolutely, she could have been sick for a couple of weeks - and missing them in the early ...
hullucinations9/26/2009Paula Damgaard
  Q: Does a person in stage 6 experience hallucinations? My Mother seems to be having them and it's ...
  A: Doni, sorry for the delay, I was out of town. If your mom is experiencing hallucinations, the real ...
Communication subjects9/24/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My mother is 98 in a nursing home and first diagnosed by a herpetologist with Alzhiemer's dementia ...
  A: Hi Matthew, sounds like your mother has been blessed with a long and relatively healthy life. I ...
Timing9/23/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My daughter is wanting to move her Stage 6c Mom from her present location in Oklahoma to New Mexico. ...
  A: I'd say...within the next 12 months...? Fairly certain she will be into Stage 7 - and I'm sure that ...
Alzheimer's9/22/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My mom is 81 years old. She has had Alzheimer's since February 2006, we think she had the beginning ...
  A: you don't mention where you live so it's hard for me to know what kind of program she is in at the ...
they can find whats wrong9/22/2009Michalene Peticca
  Q: I am the caregiver for a 81 year old friend, I am also the poa. he has been in and out of the ...
  A: I am sure this is a very challenging time. I am so glad your friend has you to help him! The key ...
Alzheimer's9/22/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: My mom is 81 years old. She has had Alzheimer's since February 2006, we think she had the beginning ...
  A: A lot of people in later dementia develop the kind of stiffness you describe. It's part of her ...
late stage alzheimers9/21/2009Mary Gordon
  Q: I recently learned that my aunt is in a nursing home with late stage Alzheimer's. My cousin was ...
  A: eek, somehow my answer ended up in a reject message. This was an accident, not sure how it happened ...
Travel long flight with Alzheimer Patient9/21/2009Michalene Peticca
  Q: My mother in law is at advance stage of Alzheimer. She does not recognize the family lot of times ...
  A: I believe you are going to find travel with your mother in law very difficult for both of you. ...
alzeihmer person with loose stools9/20/2009Paula Damgaard
  Q: My 91 year old father has dementia. I believe he is in stage 6 or 7. One of the problems I have now ...
  A: Sally, it is not common. Has he been checked by his doctor? It could be anything from a virus to a ...

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Alanna ShaikhMichalene PeticcaPaula Damgaard
Mary Gordon  

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