In 22 years, there may be as many as 100,000 people — in Oklahoma alone — in need of Alzheimer care! The 2008 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures report says that 1 out of 8 baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 will develop some form of Alzheimers symptoms. Some Alzheimers patients are cared for at home but others are turned over to the state, placing a burden on the health care system. Caregiver family members are increasingly in need of an Alzheimers support group and training to give the best assistance they can provide. There are several tips that can help an Alzheimers caregiver.

The medical difficulty of Alzheimers is that no two patients progress at the same rate or exhibit the same Alzheimers symptoms. Some Alzheimers patients are prone to wandering off or forget that they are unable to drive a car. Other earlier signs of alzheimers include misplacing keys, forgetting names and becoming irrationally upset without remembering why. In the worst stages, the patient can no longer speak or recognize friends and family.

“Each individual is so unique, so different, there is no black and white or this is how you take care (of the patient),” says Connie Kudlacek, former director of the Alzheimers Association Midlands Chapter. “Instead of focusing on the negatives, we need to look at the positives and find an opportunity to continue to nurture their personality and give them an opportunity for success, even in the later stages.”

The emotional difficulty of caring for someone with Alzheimers is the “losing and grieving while providing the care because Charlie isn’t Charlie anymore,” relates Professor Jacquelyn Frank at the Frank of Ulndy’s Center For Aging & Community. She describes the feelings as “anticipatory grief,” which refers to the fear of losing someone before they’ve even died, and “ambiguous loss,” which is the discordant feeling of caring for someone who is physically alive but socially lacking. Frank highlights the importance of airing out emotions in an Alzheimers support group to maintain a positive attitude in the face of such isolation and hopelessness.

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