For 61 years, Jeanette and Chet lived a comfortable life.
But after Chet passed away in 2002, Jeanette began to decline both physically and mentally. Her family finally moved her to a nursing home.
Jeanette suffers from dementia which leaves her agitated. That's where the Snoezelen room comes into play. Daughter Carol Grabo says it's made her mother much more mellow.
The Snoezelen room provides multi-sensory interventions -- soft sounds, special lights, aroma therapy and touchable tools like balls and lighted strands that residents can pick at instead of their skin or clothing.
This type of room was originally used with children with autism. It's an expensive investment -- even the stripped down version of the Snoezelen room costs about $10,000 -- but to Jeanette's family, it's worth every penny,
"It's helpful that we know that there's a place she can go that can calm her down, maybe make her feel better and can do it without the use of drugs," son Jim Urbanczyk said.
The concept was developed in 1970's by two Dutch therapists and has now spread to 30 countries.
Snoezelen is a combination of two Dutch words and roughly means "to sniff, explore and relax." It has also been used for patients in chronic pain.
