Coping With Alzheimer's Disease: Even If You Don't Have It

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This article is contributed by Sarah Scrafford, who regularly writes on the topic of Care Plans. She invites your questions and writing job opportunities at her personal email address: sarah.scrafford25@gmail.com. RN Online invites others to share their guest posts. Please email djtphn1@gmail.com if you would like to contribute.

They didn’t have a name for it in those days, or if they did, we did not know what it was. We were only 9 and 10, my brother and I, but we were old enough to know that our grandfather, Pappy, as we affectionately called him, was no longer the same. I still remember the summer we rushed back to our grandparents' farm eagerly anticipating the good times that awaited us, only to be shell-shocked when Pappy looked at us as he would strangers. As we learned much later in our lives, Alzheimer’s disease crept up on him pretty rapidly, and it was as if we were fighting a downhill battle from that point forward.

The vibrant and good-natured grandpa we knew and loved morphed into a shadow of his former self. He hardly remembered us. He would leave the stove turned on, shout at the nursing attendants for no reason at all, wander across the hall to other people’s apartments, (mom and dad brought him home to the city to live with them once his condition deteriorated) or sit like a dummy in front of the television with no reaction what-so-ever on his face.

Alzheimer's changes lives overnight. Not just the lives of the people afflicted, but of the people involved in caring for the Alzheimer's patient. In moments of lucidity, people suffering from the disease are aghast at the parodies their lives have become. These moments however, are few and far between, as they slip back into the child-like state that we call Alzheimer's.

Most affected by Alzheimer's disease are the caregivers, especially if they are close family members. They practically put their lives on hold, becoming stressed out from providing constant care to those who have the disease. It is a thankless job, and as one associated with providing palliative care for a disease that has no known cure, it can turn its tentacles on the people doing it. I know, because I watched my mom become a totally different person as she tried to be a good nurturer and caregiver to Pappy, my grandfather, her beloved father.

Caregivers not only deal with patients exhibiting symptoms of the disease, but also with the side-effects that arise because of the medication. They need help too, perhaps more than the patients they care for. Organizations like Alzheimer’s Association, The Department of Health Care Services, and Alzheimer’s Online exist to help people like my mother care for loved ones who have Alzheimer’s disease. From answering questions on care-giving basics to helping in planning for the future, these websites are a veritable storehouse of resources designed to help the Alzheimer’s caregiver.