I have thought a lot lately about Alzheimer’s and dementia. After doing the NAC course and working
briefly in a long term care facility, I found that I was drawn to the patients
suffering from dementia – they often needed more attention and patience, which
was hard for the nurses to give, but a little easier for student NAC’s with no
set responsibilities. What amazed
me was how quickly dementia can take over – how fast a patient can
deteriorate. In the short time I
was at this facility I had a patient who went from mobile and articulate (if
not rational) to incapacitated and bed-ridden. It seems like it can tear through a person’s mind, wreaking
havoc, and it can proceed gradually until the day that it decides its time to
take over.
Alzheimer’s is especially a cruel disease, to both the sufferer as well as their family. What moved me the most about the documentary “The Forgetting” was listening to the families talk about the loss they were experiencing, even though the person was still physically right there. I can’t imagine how difficult that would be, it almost seems like a form of torture – to have your mother sitting there, but not really be there.
In the NAC course I took, the instructor talked a lot about a dementia expert named Teepa Snow. We watched some videos with Teepa and read some of her writing, and she really had some helpful information to offer regarding how to interact with dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. The videos especially were helpful in observing techniques and methods of dealing with people with dementia – she was very good at explaining the why’s and how’s, and in demonstrating various scenarios.. Anyway the documentary we watched this week about Alzheimer’s made me think a lot about the previous stuff I had read and observations I had personally made in my work. I don’t know what I would do if I at some point received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s for myself. Or my spouse.. It just leaves me feeling black and empty inside to think of it.
Alzheimer’s is especially a cruel disease, to both the sufferer as well as their family. What moved me the most about the documentary “The Forgetting” was listening to the families talk about the loss they were experiencing, even though the person was still physically right there. I can’t imagine how difficult that would be, it almost seems like a form of torture – to have your mother sitting there, but not really be there.
In the NAC course I took, the instructor talked a lot about a dementia expert named Teepa Snow. We watched some videos with Teepa and read some of her writing, and she really had some helpful information to offer regarding how to interact with dementia and Alzheimer’s patients. The videos especially were helpful in observing techniques and methods of dealing with people with dementia – she was very good at explaining the why’s and how’s, and in demonstrating various scenarios.. Anyway the documentary we watched this week about Alzheimer’s made me think a lot about the previous stuff I had read and observations I had personally made in my work. I don’t know what I would do if I at some point received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s for myself. Or my spouse.. It just leaves me feeling black and empty inside to think of it.
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