thats their life once it starts
youre on
24/7
it doesnt ease up until things get worse
or
something bad happens
bad happens like
a fall that breaks a hip or cracks a wrist or bruises a brain
or
they wonder off somewhere and they cant be found
last year we did the pier to pier walk from hermosa beach to manhattan beach
in the introduction ceremony the story was told of a family whose mom and wife wandered away from her home
never to be found
i think of caregiving for a person with dementia or memory loss
like taking care of an adult 2 or 3 year old
you have to be on 24/7
feeding
cleaning
toiletting
dressing
watching alertly for all the things they can get into
like a 2 year old will
youre on 24/7
over the last year ive watched in our condo complex a couple
he was a oil engineer that traveled the world
we only met him last year when he was in the alzheimers world
i found him wandering off multiple times
once down the street at the bus stop trying to get into someones car
that was locked
so
i walked up to him
hey how are you doing
lets go for a walk around the condos
i knew he really liked that
so he mumbled his scrambling words that came out of his old engineer brain that was all miswired and short circuited from the alzheimers
he tired to tell me something but the words got all scrambled up inside and came out as gibberish
if you have had an alzheimers loved one you know what im talking about
he shuffled his feet
wearing his old disheveled clothes that didnt match
with the shirt tail half in and half out
his zipper down
he had that homeless look
he had a home though
he just didnt know where it was
he wouldnt bathe
he wouldnt eat much
he wouldnt change clothes
she his wife was 24/7
she had become not only 24/7 on but 24/7 fatigued and sleep deprived
our condo courtyard is undergoing an extensive update to the electrical
sewer and water lines that has the place looking like some canal city
with all of its trenches
trenches that were just waiting on him for his next escape
which eventually wouldnt end well
this danger plus the marked fatigue and burnout of the caregiver and
his more decline to that final trip down into the alzheimers abyss
well it all added up
forced them to move him into a facility to help care for him
he is safe now
he is probably happy
she can get rest
she visits him everyday
there is this point where that decision is made
its a hard one i know
for me
ive asked my wife she to make that decision early
to not wait too long
for those caregivers
look for help
there are lots of caregivers groups
hospice can be used early
organizations like the alzheimers association and alzheimers groups have
information on all this
go to a caregiver meeting
youll see a lot of others in your situation
youre not alone
but
you may feel that way
when its time to let go of them to the care of others
freely do it with no guilt
just know
that usually its better for you and for them
donate and or walk with you local alzheimers walk
my younger brothers team in the south arkansas walk to end alzheimers on saturday september 22nd is called
#joe nash
my team in the santa barbara walk to end alzheimers on saturday november 3rd is called
organicgreendoctor
click and donate and or walk with us
the organicgreen doctor
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