His mother moved to another house with dementia three times and he built a glass house to accompany her 90-year-old mother. "Children's words"
The ancients have Meng's mother moved to three places . Cao Wenlong, director of the Dementia Center of Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital in Chiayi, Dementia , accompanied his mother. Three moves.
Cao Wenlong built a glass house for his mother. The building surrounds the atrium and provides a clear view. Reporter Wu Zhenying/Photography
Cao Wenlong, known as "Cao Dad", is a pioneer in community-based dementia care. His daily life with his 91-year-old mother with dementia, Grandma Cao, subverts many people's fear of dementia. Grandma Cao's "Tongyan Tongyu" has attracted countless fans and can be called an alternative Internet celebrity.
The "Dementia Story" of Cao's mother and son, the deep affection between mother and son revealed in the natural sincerity, is gentle and touching.
Cao Wenlong interacts closely with his mother every night. Reporter Wu Zhenying/Photography
A pair of dentures Keeping mother and child close together
In the virtual world, Father Cao’s Facebook is bustling every night. Sometimes Father Cao records his struggle with Grandma Cao to pull out her dentures. “She puts them on After getting dentures, I forgot that I had dentures. Only my patience and kind guidance could remove them. A pair of dentures made our mother-son bond stick together." It makes people smile. Sometimes, it is the resonance between him as a caregiver and other caregivers. Behind every conversation, there is a sad or inspiring story.
In the real world, Father Cao built a glass house for Grandma Cao. In the bright room, his care for his mother with dementia can be seen everywhere. The
glass house is located near National Chung Cheng University in Chiayi. Cao’s father was first invited to the home of a Chinese professor and was deeply impressed by the transparent design of his home space surrounding the atrium. Father Cao, who longed for it, took action many years later to buy a piece of land and invited the same designer and professor from Yunnan University of Science and Technology to build his current home.
Dr. Cao Wenlong’s home has a barrier-free ramp instead of an elevator. Reporter Wu Zhenying/Photography
The glass house has a clear view and can see each other
On the first floor of the glass house, two rooms are connected to become Grandma Cao’s bedroom; a barrier-free ramp replaces the elevator, so you can see or hear the family members walking around at a glance Walking; another example is that Grandma Cao’s bedroom and dining room have a clear view. Through the atrium, family members and foreign caregivers can still take care of each other.
The design of the glass house not only takes the elderly into consideration, but also hides Father Cao’s compassion for his wife Cao Mother. On the second floor, Cao's father and Cao's mother have a bedroom, a living room, a guest room, and a small kitchen. Cao's mother can occasionally cook simple meals by herself and maintain an independent space. Dinner is a time for the whole family to eat and play together. .
A corner of the corridor inside the glass house is where Cao’s father takes a breather and drinks tea. Reporter Wu Zhenying/Photography
The corridors running through both sides of the house are like art corridors. Dad Cao occasionally makes tea and lights incense here to calm down his body and mind. The 73-year-old father Cao said with a smile that seeing his mother living very comfortably in this house, "When I am 90 years old, I should be able to be very comfortable and happy here."
The "Dementia Story" of the Cao family's mother and son is naturally and sincerely The deep affection between mother and son revealed in the poem is gentle and touching. Picture/Excerpted from Cao Wenlong’s Facebook page
The friendly Grandma Cao answers “good” to everything
The day of the interview happened to be close to the Chinese New Year, and Cao’s father’s younger brother returned home to visit his mother. The two brothers gathered around their mother and sang the appropriate song "Gong Xi Fa Cai". Everyone smiled and congratulated Grandma Cao. Grandma Cao instantly became "Miss No Problem" and answered "Okay" and "No Problem" to everything.
Dad Cao explained that conversations with the elderly with dementia should be as simple as possible. If the mother does not understand, she will "deal with" everyone with good and no problem, while still retaining her good and friendly temper.
Whose responsibility is it to take care of your parents? is a problem for many caregivers. Dad Cao said that his mother had five children and he was the eldest. Because his father was ill for a long time, his mother had to work to support the family. He had to take care of the whole family since he was a child. He later became a doctor and had medical expertise and financial ability. He never thought about why. It is not the brothers or sisters who take care of their parents.
The barrier-free ramp of the glass house replaces the elevator, and the footsteps of the family are the most beautiful music.Reporter Wu Zhenying/Photography
As for Cao Ma, as the eldest daughter-in-law, is it stressful to take care of her? Father Cao said that when he was young, his parents helped them take care of their children and relieved them of a lot of work burden. Mother Cao also has a boss character and is very grateful for her mother's dedication.
In fact, Cao’s mother is also a member of the family with dementia. Cao’s father’s mother-in-law is over 90 years old and suffers from dementia. At Cao’s father’s suggestion, she replaced the nasogastric tube with a gastrostomy. As a result, she has a better quality of life and can still survive when she is in good condition. You can sing "Peach Blossom River". Both families are also facing dementia care issues, which makes Cao's father even more eager to go into the community and promote the concept of dementia-friendliness.
Retires for the second time and runs a community "memory maintenance class"
The cause of dementia is still unknown. Heredity may be one of the factors. I asked Cao's father if he is worried that he will also develop dementia after old age? He said that many people regard dementia as a risk, so we need to understand dementia more.
He explained that dementia is like an enemy that attacks the brain’s defense lines. If a person’s brain has 10 lines of defense, such as being unable to remember dates or things, when you know that the lines of defense are lost one by one, there are still 3 functions. Keep it, you have to tell your friends around you and take a look at the 3 functions I still have, so that you can face dementia calmly.
He said half-jokingly, "When a person develops dementia at the age of 7 or 80, it at least means that you do not have cancer or stroke. Play with dementia and don't be afraid of it."
Cao Wenlong is the director of the Neurology Department of Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital and a dementia patient. He has been the director of the Mental Illness Center for a total of 9 years. Going into the community to run "memory care classes" and other services has been the core in recent years. This is the second time Cao's father has retired. By chance in his early years, he retired from the national defense system and took over as director of the Department of Neurology at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, where he stayed for 15 years until he was 64 years old.
“I originally thought that I would die in Hualien, with my parents and wife by my side. I could be filial, teach, and take care of patients in rural areas. Unexpectedly, fate would push me and I would come to Dalin Tzu Chi to open up new territories. . ”
Taipei, Hualien, Chiayi…, this is the footprint of Cao’s father’s medical work, and it was also the place he once considered “home”. He wrote on Facebook, "Meng's mother moved three times, and I moved with my mother three times. Finally, she moved to a good place for her to enjoy her old age. Thank God."
Nasogastric tube vs. gastrostomy
Many patients with dementia In the later stages, a nasogastric tube was inserted for force-feeding, but patients often pulled out the nasogastric tube, causing injuries. Cao Wenlong pointed out that compared with gastrostomy, nasogastric tube feeding has a higher risk of infection and can easily cause aspiration pneumonia. In Europe and the United States, nasogastric tube is considered an inhumane treatment method.
Gastrostomy (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) is to make a small hole in the patient's upper left abdomen that can lead to the stomach, and then insert the feeding tube directly from the abdomen to the stomach for feeding. The operation process takes about 15 to 20 minutes, as long as you clean regularly, you can get a better quality of life.
