After our horrific start to the day (see below) I managed to get George back on track! This did take some time but worth it. I made sure that he had his breakfast and also gave him some jelly beans to help the blood/sugar levels. I then got him out the big book I had made him and we went through it. The first time he did not recognise many people and had to read to find the names even with the picture of him with Audrey Hepburn, something he loves to remember. The second time he was a bit better and the third time he really got into the swing. He would turn a page and say, I remember this and then proceed to tell me about that day when the photo was taken. It was interesting too that he certainly remembered those he had spent time with recently, for example his son and grandson who had both visited from Sydney. I think this would be because they both spent a lot of time with him while they were here. Another old friend rings him several times a month and this seems to be important to George. They talk about old times and people they both knew as well as rugby games. For family it is important for them to spend as much time as they can with a person with Alzheimer's and keep talking about the past as then they have a greater chance of having those special moments with that person as the disease progresses.
For those separated by being in different places a great way to overcome this is via Skype - just make the time.
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