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| About Alzheimer's |
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Their
Real Worldä Do they know
they have Alzheimer s? As you know, people with Alzheimer s Disease are unable to reason,
rationalize or comprehend the way they use to be able to. They have a dementia
and forming new memories is restricted. New information is not stored to be
retrieved at a later time. New memories are lost almost as quickly as they
happen. More typically however, old memories remain intact and retrievable
longer because the information had already been stored before the dementia.
If you find yourself arguing or trying to reason with someone who
has Alzheimer s, stop for a minute and ask yourself What am I doing? Does this
person I m attempting to rationalize with have Alzheimer s Disease? Do they know
they have Alzheimer s Disease? Does this not make sense even to me? Remind
yourself that the dementia is the reason why you became their care partner in
the first place. If the person has progressed past the earlier stages of their
dementia, then they do NOT know that they have a dementia. That s why care
partnering for someone with this diagnosis can become so complicated. We try to
get things done through our eyes, in our world, from our perspective, while they
live in their own world, with their own interpretation, understanding and
perspective of the very same situation. They oftentimes must think we re crazy
. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Do they
know they have Alzheimer s when:
Do they
know they have Alzheimer s when: ·
They
do not remember your name or who you are? ·
They
ask for a beer while standing at the nursing station thinking it s a
bar? ·
They
think they re on a cruise ship and they re actually on the second floor of a
nursing home? ·
They
tell you they re so sick and tired of feeding the damn chickens or telling the
priest to shut-up as he consecrates the bread? Do they
know they have Alzheimer s when: ·
They
think they re at work and they re at their Alzheimer day care
program? ·
They
re waiting for their car to get out of the shop and it s been there for two
years or when they tell everyone they see that they re going home from the
hospital on Friday and they ve been in the nursing home for five
years? ·
Or
when they tell you, you never talk to them, or feed them, or love them and then
throw you out of their room? Do they
know they have Alzheimer s when: ·
They
tell you funny stories from their past as if they re talking to an old friend
from way back when. ·
When
they swear or spit in public or when they forget their teeth or their underwear
or when they tell someone they have a fat ass or when they introduce a total
stranger as their spouse ·
Do
they know they have Alzheimer s when they make you feel angry, frustrated or
upset In instances such as these and so very many
more: No they do not know they have Alzheimer s. And if they did know
they wouldn t do or say or believe any of these things, and they especially
would not want to make you feel badly or hurt your
feelings. Then why do we so often try to communicate with them as though they still have their cognition just like you and I? In order to care partner in a more effective, efficient, respectful and compassionate way, foremost in our mind should be their diagnosis. Though it can be difficult, we need to enable
them to live a seemingly normal life within their dementia,
while at
the same time constantly bearing in mind that they do
not understand normally, because of the dementia. It s certainly a journey for
everyone. It takes practice, patience and the support of others; it takes learning how. It can be frustrating, annoying and tiring. Then one day they look at you with their beautiful wrinkled face and smile the most beautiful smile and say to you Thank you or I love you with all the warmth and sincerity that can last you a lifetime until the next day when they empty out the closet, overflow the toilet, call 911 again, or go roaming half undressed in the middle of the day!! Important
note:
Finding
the humor is a necessity!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Creating Sensitivity to Alzheimer
s
Mal
@TheirRealWorld.com
ã2007TRWConfusion |