Caring for Alzheimer’s patient can be a struggle

Published 11:45 am Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Mt. Olive Seniors by Dixie Kuykendall

The North Jefferson News



Last week I wrote about “senior moments” and how we experience forgetfulness from time to time.

We worry that it might be more serious, especially if you have cared for someone with Alz-heimer’s and have seen first hand the path it takes.

People with Alzheimer’s have a more noticeable and rapid decline in memory and other cognitive skills. When memory loss becomes so pervasive and severe that it disrupts your daily life, hobbies, social activities and family relationships, you may be experiencing the warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

One of the hardest and saddest life experiences for me was watching helplessly as my mother journeyed through the stages of Alzheimer’s. Seeing the disease slowly strip away the most cherished asset most of us have in our later years – our memory.

If you are a caregiver, you can expect to have feelings of loss and grief as your life and the person you love are changed by Alzheimer’s disease. Caring for someone who has Alzheimer’s can be overwhelming, exhaustive and stressful. Acceptance is hard. This is especially true in the early stages when things seem to go on as usual most of the time.

These feelings are difficult, but they are normal. Everyone grieves differently and at their own pace.

Every 72 seconds someone in America develops Alzheimer’s disease, and there are over 84,000 Alabamians with this memory robbing disease. For each patient, an entire family is affected.

In the words of Rosalyn Carter, “There are four kinds of people — those who have been caregivers, those who are currently care givers, those who will be caregivers, those who will need caregivers.”

No one should face Alzheimer’s alone. There are so many resources available – The Alzheimer’s Association offers support groups and a tremendous amount of literature to answer many of the questions that you need to ask. One of the best books that I read was “The 36-Hour Day,” a comprehensive and practical guide to coping with Alzheimer’s.

Let’s learn all we can about the signs and symptoms. Let’s share the information with family. Let’s encourage and support research to discover the cause and develop a cure. Let’s hope for a world without Alzheimer’s.



Capital news

On the 22nd meeting day of the regular session, the House did not have enough votes to consider a bill to make the start of the school year no later than Aug. 10.

They approved a resolution that asks state auditors to review the finances of state school systems.

The House also approved a bill that would remove the state sales tax from food, eliminating deductions for federal taxes and revising standard deductions and personal exemptions. It now goes to the Senate. The bill passed the House 63 to 38. One less vote in favor would have defeated the bill.

A bill to establish the Alzheimer’s disease Task Force to assess the current and future impact of Alzheimer’s disease in Alabama was also passed by the House. It now goes to the Senate.

Legislation pending in the House and Senate would legally entitle members of the state’s political class to hold government jobs and take virtually unlimited time off from them while they’re performing public service.

The Senate spent another day debating an electronic Bingo bill for Macon County. This bill has been debated off and on in the Senate since Feb. 26 and still hasn’t been resolved.

Dixie Kuykendall writes a weekly column on Mt. Olive seniors. She can be reached at 631-0049 or at dixiek@bellsouth.net.