I have a cohort and friend who wrote an article for the Shriver Report. In it she relates the journey that she took while seeing her mother debilitate and loose her mental faculties to Alzheimer’s.
I have attached the link here for anyone that is interested in reading the full article. http://shriverreport.org/a-personal-and-professional-journey-through-alzheimers-disease-maria-deneau/
I can relate to her story as I have seen and helped so many people over the last 20 years in the nursing field. I also have a personal story of seeing my own grandfathers battle with Alzheimer’s.
Ultimately my grandfather did not die from the memory failure, it was pneumonia that took his life. Memory deficits just made the last seven years of his life difficult. He played solitare and learned to play the piano during the early years hoping it would slow the disease progress.
Nothing could have prepared my grandmother for the amount of strain and stress she underwent for the last year of his life. They became completely isolated. When grandma called and told our family that they were not coming to stay for a week the summer of 2004 my mother went to see them in Florida.
So many things can go undone when a family is dealing with this kind of slow tragedy. Especially if the family is helping from a distance. The support and caring from a home care agency like ours can be enough to lift a family through the struggle. Personal Care, Homemaking, and an office for coordinating efforts can go far to help.
Daniel Story, RN, CEO
