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Nancy,

I thought of one other thing.

The big problem I've had with restricting my father's diet is that even
though we are paying through the nose for others to prepare his food, I'm
still sporting several hundred dollars a month of extra food expenses
because the institutions who feed him do not have access to gluten-free
foods from their suppliers.  So what happens is that a menu with 40 items
ends up being for my dad a menu of five items.  Now if you seat a person
with dementia in a dining room where others are feasting on delicious
looking goodies, and he is down to plain meat and one or two plain
vegetables with no bread, and you've got a behavior problem on your hands.
(And may I say, rightly so!)

At both institutions that serve my father, he has ended up in a rage saying
that he is an attorney and by golly he's going to eat what he wants to eat
and he wants some of that delicious pie they are serving.  They say they are
restricted by rules that say they have to comply with his wishes when he
throws a fit like this.  What's a daughter to do?

I'll tell you what I've done...I've been sending off mail order for
Gillian's French Rolls and have hired someone to go to the health food store
and buy Rice Dream Ice Cream for him to have available for his sweet tooth.
When he has good food to eat, he's as happy and as sweet as you could ever
want....and HEALTHY!!

If you are thinking about addressing this issue on a legislative level, then
please think of the problem the institutions have in getting these foods
from their suppliers.  My dad's day care is Jewish, and their foods must be
kosher, which adds all sorts of complication to the supplier issue.

Doing the best we can with existing circumstances, but tired of handling
expenses that Medicare deems unimportant for his health.  (We dropped his
other health insurance when my sister was advised how comprehensive Medicare
is.  We have a Medigap policy which pays the other 20%, but they won't touch
any expenses that Medicare won't pay.  I doubt we could get other insurance
now.)

Susan Owens

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                            (Walter & Susan Owens)
                            [log in to unmask]
                            Dallas, Texas  USA