Preventing Her Shutdown, Losing My Wife To Alzheimer´s by Sammie Marsalli
As there are no two Alzheimer’s victims alike, there are no two caregivers alike. We are all different in the way we react. That is why there isn´t a “supposed to do list” to follow. Our patience levels vary as well as some of the personal techniques we apply because we are all dealing with very different behavior changes. This is why in the support groups where we share problems and possible answers we always get “try this, try that”, “what worked for you didn´t work for me” dialogue. These tips are important and many times effective but there is no guarantee. There are different histories, idiosyncrasies, habits and capacities that Alzheimer’s has affected in different ways and in different degrees of graveness. Caregivers should listen, consider all alternatives but in the end only have trial and error experience to rely on as their guide.
I am a typical John Doe husband “amateur caregiver” for my wife with Alzheimer´s on my own inventing and creating ways to keep my wife interactive and connected. I wanted to share these efforts with other “amateur caregivers” like me living this same journey alone with their loved ones.