A Caregiver’s Story

Health
Photo Credit: Alzheimer's Association

How Alzheimer’s Association Helps Ease the Trials of Caring for the Alzheimer’s Afflicted

My name is Rosa. I take care of my mom with the help of my 2 sisters. My mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 3 years ago.

Even though it’s 3 of us taking turns caring for her, it is one of the most difficult experiences of my life. My mom is 83 years old. She can still bathe with supervision, but for everything else she needs a lot of assistance. Her behavior changed a lot.

She spends the day repeating the same thing over and over again. She gets very anxious. It is physically and psychologically very exhausting to care for someone with Alzheimer’s or Dementia. It is a 24 hour/7 days a week job. I was called from a Nursing Home, I had put my mom’s name on the waiting list, they told me that there was a bed available for her, but my sisters and I were not ready to move her yet. We will continue to care for my mom until we can no longer do so.

The Alzheimer’s Association offers support groups in Spanish, where we can get to know each other, learn how to handle different situations and deal with difficult behaviors. The Alzheimer’s Association also provides community resource information, has a respite caregiver program, safe return for people who wander and educational programs to learn more about the disease and how to care of yourself as a caregiver.

All programs are free and all your personal information is confidential. Caregivers need to look for help and create a care team for our loved ones with dementia.

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