Have you ever thought where our country would be without Caregivers to take care of our Alzheimer’s patients in the U.S. The costs to Medicare, Medicaid, Insurance, and state programs is over $148 million for the 5.3 million cases in the U.S. The costs to the Caregivers is bigger than that because gov programs do not cover much of the Cost of home care provided by caregivers. We have spouses taking care of spouses, children taking care of parents and/or in-laws and some siblings taking care of siblings. The health and death toll among the caregivers is staggering. It is a very hard job and most of it is 24/7. I have a lady that comes to our house 3 days a week for 6 hrs/day. She is a great help to both Carol and I but it is still very exhausting to me. I also have two children and 6 grandkids in Rockwall and of course that is a big benefit.
I want to tell you a little about the Caregivers I have communicated with since 2005 through message boards on Alzheimer’s Assoc and a private Blog called thealzheimerspouce.com Other folks are mostly ladies but there are a lot of men. Our outlook on caregiving is somewhat different for men vs woman but the main ties are basically the same. We still have to deal with the memory loss, the emotional problems, the anger outbursts, personal hygiene is a major problem, especially as incontinence reaches each family. My respect for the caregivers I have met is of the highest order and I ask each reader here to pray for the Caregivers as well as the patients. One of the oldest and still best reference book is “The 36 Hour Day” which kind of tells you the total and complete involvement of taking care of the Alzheimer’s patient.
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My Dad is so right about praying for the CAREGIVER!
ReplyDeleteWhen your loved one is first diagnosed, you mourn for the loss of that person!
Then you deal with the symptoms, and try to make them happy and content.
You then get over the emotional side and the mourning for that loss, and you really end up focusing on the Caregiver. They need the love and support and breaks and ultimately the conversations. I had to move from taking my Mom on outings, to just spending time with BOTH Mom and Dad. It's like raising a child, just when you think you've got it figured out, things change, and you have to adjust.
My wife has had AD since 2000 and I know the heartache and stress a caregiver lives through. I was her caregiver until 2006, when she entered the nursing home. Believe me, it is true what they have termed "the long goodbye". The wrenching sadness and overwhelming stress is indescribable for the one who cares...yet I remember, so well, the loving, sweet, smart, gentle girl I married as though it was yesterday. And now, though she still recognizes me, she has forgotten my name. In May, we will have been married 55 years and my love and concewrn for her is as strong as ever. I visit her 3/4 times a week to feed her (she has lost the capability of using utensils) and has further developed tremors in her hands and arms. She is confined to a wheelchair 24/7, but is her happy, smiling self. Our visits are spent in silence, since she can't speak understandably, but she holds my hand and appears satisfied that I am there. AD is slow, but presently incurable, with the various stages coming on fairly suddenly. As far as I can ascertain, there is no pain suffered by its victims, for which I thank God. The family prays for her recovery, but I realize that she is in God's hands now.
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