Alzheimer’s Disease is not an easy one for the senior with the diagnosis or their family.
The very best strategy, though, is to talk about the disease and to develop a plan of action for managing the memory loss and the care needs. This will allow the senior to feel they are still involved in the decision-making and enable the family to implement safety measures from the beginning (i.d. bracelet, medication management, regular caregiving schedule).
And, even more importantly, this will allow the senior’s family to talk to prevent misunderstandings which could cause gaps in care because perhaps not everyone has the same strategy. Usually there is “water under the bridge” with various family members after years of living. These realities must be addressed.
One Salon columnist very openly shares his desire not to be the caregiver for his Mother-in-law, who has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. It is nice to find someone express their honesty – he is definitely not alone.
Often when families hire a Senior Home Care Agency to provide care services, they are able to lessen the stress for family members because a third-party caregiver simply doesn’t come with the baggage a family caregiver brings. Each family must find the right solution for them but the first step is to start the conversation.
