Slowing Down

One of the hardest things for our rehab staff to do is to slow our pace. After all, we are busy nurses, therapists, and physicians. We have patients to see, pills to give, and exercises to do. We are all trying to give multiple patients what they need, when they need it, and any interruption in that careful schedule can often impact another patient’s care. When we have patients who need extra time, it always throws a wrench in the works.

One of our patients has Parkinson’s disease. Though he needs little assistance with most of his care, it takes him nearly twice as long to do things such as brush his teeth, stand up, or even answer a question. When I enter his room, I have to shake off my energetic therapist mindset and give him what he needs: time. This is easier said than done for the fast-paced workers on our unit, myself included.

Health facility staff has one advantage over caregivers at home: we get time off. Though we may see slowing our pace as an inconvenience, we don’t have to deal with it for more than 8-12 hours at a time. We leave our shift at the end of the day. After a few weeks with us, the patient goes home. That is when the caregiver takes over, and must do all of the things the staff has done. He or she gets no time off.

I have a few hints to save some time in a Parkinson’s patient’s daily routine, based on my experiences with facilitating self-care. They won’t work every time, and they won’t solve all of the frustrations, but when you are on call 24/7, every little bit helps.

Count to 10. No, this isn’t an anger management technique; it is a way to make sure that your family member has adequate time to initiate a reaction, or verbalize a response, or even to move. Don’t hover insisting over and over again that your family member stand up. Wait 10 seconds before asking a second time. This can help keep everyone from getting irritated.

Give baths at night. Sure, it is traditional to have a shower when you get up in the morning, but doing this in the evening can shave an hour or more off of the morning routine. Plus, a bath before bedtime can relax your family member. 

Keep like items together. If your family member is fairly mobile, arrange outfits on hangers or in a bag so that they can take everything they need at once. Keep towels and washcloths together near the shower. The fewer items your family member needs to gather, the faster her routine will be.

Give your family member minimal choices to decrease decision-making time. For instance, don’t ask what he would like for dinner or what he wants to wear. Offer two or three choices and have him pick.

Remember, Parkinson’s patients don’t move slowly on purpose. In fact, their slower pace often frustrates them as much as it frustrates you. Help your loved one succeed by giving her the time she needs.