Battling Alzheimer

If you are like most caregivers who are battling Alzheimer’s disease, you are so tired that the very thought of driving to a gym, waking early to exercise, or taking time to put in an exercise tape stresses you and makes you feel even more tired and burned out.  But I promise you this - if you exercise 30 to 60 minutes per day, especially if you can manage to get outside and catch some fresh air and sunshine, you will feel much less stressed and more energized.

Exercise has numerous benefits, here are three:

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While college students plan their parties and high school students consider their weekend options; while your coworkers give thought to what movie they’ll see this weekend and family members consider how they might celebrate Easter, your plans remain the same. 

Whether you have dinner with family, attend a religious service or plan to stay home, one thing is constant.  You are a caregiver.

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Battling Alzheimer’s Disease and its Compatriot Wandering

By nature, I am a pretty even tempered person. Not much gets under my skin. However, my mother’s wandering really got to me. She’d gather her coat and purse, and head for the door. By the time she had taken 10-15 steps, my normally 96/54 blood pressure had skyrocketed to stroke levels and I was s-t r-e-s-s-e-d.

No matter how much I talked, explained, used logic and my persuasion skills, she remained intent on going. Sometimes, she’d slip out of the door, without my knowing, and my toddler would announce to me that grandma was going, “bye, bye.”

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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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