How to Help the Caregiver

These ideas were in a recent Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's email/newsletter, and I love them.

How to help someone who is providing care for someone with a terminal illness, i.e. dementia:

Don't say: "Let me know how I can help." It's a nice gesture, but such offers can be difficult to accept — primarily because they're not specific. Instead, make concrete offers of help. For example:

1. "I'm going to the grocery store. What can I pick up for you?"
2."I've got a couple of hours free tomorrow afternoon. May I sit in for you while you run a few errands or take some time for yourself?"
3."I doubled my meatloaf recipe so that I could share it with you. I brought enough to last you for several meals."
4."Do you need some laundry done? I can pick it up today and bring it back clean tomorrow."
5. "Does your yard need to be mowed? I'd be happy to take care of it this weekend."
Sometimes sending a card or making a phone call to check in on a caregiver means a lot. Emails and text messages work, too — but often personal visits are even better. Contact with the outside world can help lift a caregiver's spirits.

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