Battling Alzheimer

Today is Friday, the day that I dedicate to the amazing people who fall are caregivers.

You are true warriors. You battle the elements to get your loved ones to doctor’s appointments, You battle your grief as you go about providing care while you are tired, frustrated and wondering how you’ll be able to make it. You battle Alzheimer’s disease daily. Sometimes you get a thank you and sometimes you don’t. But you always keep on going.

After a few days of talking about hospice, I’ll wrap up the week by telling you how hospice can help you as a caregiver. You may be tempted to skip over this because your loved one is not anywhere near the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease. However, I encourage you to read on because the more informed you are, the easier it will be to make a decision when the time comes.

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Refuse to ask for help–Caregivers tend to get frustrated that other family members and close friends are not chipping in as they should.  Instead of reaching out, they often adopt the attitued, “if I want it done right, I’ll have to do it myself.”  This is not good for anyone, the caregiver, the family or the one who needs the care.

Play martyr–Martyrdom is noble and had, maybe even still has its place in society.  However, your loved one needs you alive not sacrificing your own health and overall well being, in order to give care.

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Alzheimer’s disease often brings stress and guilt. Not necessarily for the patient. Not for the professional caregiver either, since they are experienced and trained not to be bothered by these things. No, I mean that Alzheimer’s disease often brings stress and guilt for the patient’s loved ones.

Certainly, when your family member is distressed, you wonder if you did something wrong. Maybe you didn’t. Maybe you did something they didn’t like, but you had no choice. Maybe you made a mistake, but everybody does. Maybe it’s too late to fix it. We all need to learn to deal with guilt for things we really are guilty of, instead of shoving it aside. But you may not be guilty of anything.

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