I’m very impressed by how Juanita is handling her situation. I mean here, she’s got a partner who is struck in the prime of his life with this devastating illness.
Juanita really articulates the sense of loss that so many couples experience when they get the diagnosis. It’s not just the immediate loss of what they’re recognizing right now but the trajectory about the future. I mean, all of us who are in relationships think about the future and we plan ahead. All of the sudden, that’s taken away. And Juanita would probably find that there are other levels of loss that she will experience as the disease progresses. Unfortunately, as people get very severe, they’re no longer the person they were before and many care partners or caregivers will mourn the death, if you will, of the person, before there’s even physical death.
Juanita really seems to get the practical issues with James so she’s preparing the food, she knows that he’s not going to eat unless it’s out there and he has reminders. She’s got the medication laid out, she’s got sticky notes everywhere to help him out. I think that it shows some thought and real caring on what’s going on from her end that it can really improve quality of life.
Many studies have found that—for example, people who attend college have a lower risk of getting Alzheimer’s Disease. People will spend more time in mentally challenging leisure activities at a lower rate of getting Alzheimer’s Disease. So we always encourage people to do puzzles, to read books, to do things that they find are fun and try to train but not strain the brain. So you want to find the activity that stimulate and engaging but not too difficult and not too easy because it will get boring.
Often, we found that doing something that’s familiar is great. I remember a family where the father and son would always play pool. And they found that when they got into the pool hall, dad really functioned much better because he was overwhelmed and enjoyable. So they probably added a year or two to their quality of life in their relationship because they recognize that benefit.
We know that care giving puts us at risk for depression. Some studies that 50% or more of primary caregivers of Alzheimer patients developed a depression that requires medical intervention. So I think doctors and family should be aware of that and identify depression when it occurs in care giving because that’s something that’s very treatable. And if the caregiver is depressed, that’s going to impact their ability to take care or help out with their partner’s illness.
I think that care partners need to realize that they’re not alone and they need to reach out to resources like the Alzheimer’s Association and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America, get involved in support groups, talk to other caregivers who have been through and will give them not just emotional support but also practical support, talking to someone who’s really been on the trenches and done it will be tremendously enlightening.
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