Caregivers Support
A New Beginning for
Alzheimer’s Caregiver’s Support.
Caregivers Support for Alzheimer’s Disease necessitates your willingness to gather information and education. Support, then, nearly always begins and ends with the Principle Caregiver stepping forth to ‘do the right thing‘ by his or her self and their loved one.
I’ll bet you thought the title of this Page, ‘Caregiver Support’, meant someone would support YOU, the Caregiver. Hopefully, that will become the case but, friend, you simply cannot wait on others to, ‘do the right thing’ by you. Your afflicted loved one requires assistance… and a Plan toward achieving that assistance… now. That is your first responsibility. Second, is gaining ‘Caregiver Support’ so you will be able to continue to positively influence progressively better care for your loved one without wearing down to the point you are even somewhat ineffectual. See ‘Are You Receiving Family Help‘.
But first, let’s start at the beginning…
Most of us only develop an interest in both a disease and Caregiver’s Support only after we’ve somehow become enjoined to it. Particularly with Alzheimer’s and a few other more debilitating diseases. That was true with me. It’s sad to say though, that even for awhile after having gained a fair amount of knowledge regarding Alzheimer’s, my ignorance level still remained high… on even some of the basics! One example is that I unfortunately remained sufficiently well tunnel visioned that when someone younger than I approach and explained they had contracted what is called, ‘Early Onset Alzheimer’s‘, I pretty much blew it off thinking that inasmuch as Alzheimer’s struck older people, they just didn’t entirely understand what the disease really encompassed. Given what I’d been exposed to relative to the learning curve for someone my Mom’s age, I simply did not then realize that a person younger than I could in fact develop Alzheimer’s. They knew exactly what they were talking about!
The point I’m making is that when I began my research I was able to discover a ton of information regarding Alzheimer’s Disease… except, of course, …what I felt I needed most. In the beginning I didn’t need to know most of the particulars that are found on the Net about Alzheimer’s. Nor did I need to know the expanse of it’s reach… including what ages people were when the disease struck. What I needed to know relative to my Mom’s needs were ways to cope with particular, basic difficulties I typically encountered during the course of each day.
How do I respond or react to this or that? What do I do with this or that circumstance? How can I head off this or that typical eventuality? Etc., etc., etc. Yes. There was some information on how to handle the multitude of particulars having to do with managing this or that or even coping with this or that, but not necessarily specifically dealing with the focal point do(s) and don’t(s) that I daily experienced. General information was certainly available, but normally all information was just that… general information.
Much of the time then, I simply ‘winged it’ when it came to particulars. I trusted that coupled with the general information I’d already gathered, my developing, yet ‘seat of the pants’ systems or responses would get my Mom and I through whatever we came up against.
But, I didn’t want to learn the basic ‘how to(s)’ only as I encountered a problem. It seemed to me I’d be able to better serve Mom if I already had an idea of what I should or should not do when this or that particular arrived.
On this Site I’ve tried to incorporate a good many, ‘What to do…right now‘ concepts relative to a variety of developments which you might also face. Naturally, every person and every aspect of how the disease affects and effects each of us as individuals is at least somewhat different. Therefore, if you find helpful any information herein that even relates to that which you are going through, you’ll still be obliged to consider, adjust and in your own manner go forth with whatever concepts you’ve fine tuned to suit your own family care. I hope you’ll find helpful the suggestions herein.
Over the last four years or so my Mom has been digressing mentally; sometimes quickly; sometimes slowly. It is from those many things learned during the four years encompassing Stage One, Stage Two and a growing part of Stage Three that I write. It is noteworthy to realize that while four years in any field of endeavor hardly qualifies anyone as an expert, it is equally noteworthy to recognize that those four years by and large encompass a 24/7 period of hands on learning. Plausibly speaking then, that could well liken to our gaining a good number more years of intensive education. Please recognize though, that I do not claim expertise in the slightest. It’s just that I may have experienced a bit more than a person newly acquainted with Alzheimer’s. Within this as well as recommended sites then, I’m certain you’ll find a wealth of valuable information offered for your benefit.
The explosion of the numbers of people now afflicted by Alzheimer’s could be equated to progression as is displayed on an exponential curve. Countless numbers of people new to the experience are striving to learn not only how to identify and work through the day to day care responsibilities, but perhaps more so to learn how to mentally, emotionally and financially prepare for what is yet to come. Friend, I strongly encourage you to employ every available resource to help you learn. Quickly. And as is true in all things, the more quickly you learn, the better for all involved. Assuming, of course, you act on what you learn!
And on that point - Should you have a better system or proven performance on any Alzheimer’s care responsibility, please do not hesitate leaving a message. If your idea is different from that which is already presented for consideration, I may well include your ideas on this site for the express purpose to further educate any who might desire to learn. Thank you!
NOTE: With respect to medical discoveries pursuant to Alzheimer’s disease, there is more information as well as scholarly reasoning behind the revelations of science now coming to light than the average person can read and digest in years. Thus, herein I will only go into the particulars of the medical basis, et al, of Alzheimer’s to the extent I provide you with some direction toward acquiring knowledge through both scientific and academic external sources. Please investigate for yourself the many arenas offering specific and/or related information. The education you acquire and the application thereof will provide you immense benefits during your tour of care.
Final Note: Caregivers: As you research the avenues of education available, endeavor to always keep your priorities straight. Remember that your ultimate purpose in acquiring information about Alzheimer’s should be for the specific purpose of providing caregiver support to your afflicted loved one. (Now you are looking at your computer screen saying, ‘What’s wrong with that guy?’ ‘Of course’! ‘That’s obvious’!) My point however, is that you must never forget, as though you could, that when you are in even brief contact with any other person afflicted by Alzheimer’s or their Caregivers, your continuing goal should always be to even momentarily enhance their lives by effectively putting to use your education and experience. Perhaps rather than something you think to be distinctive, all you’ll elect to do is present a warm and loving smile. That’s great! You probably already know that even the smallest kindness is a lasting spirit boost for all.
That of course, brings up the idea of ‘Support Groups’. The idea, ‘different strokes for different folks’, or put another way, our individual ‘comfort zones’ surely factors into the decision making process of any person considering whether or not to investigate support groups. Some people are simply too uncertain of others, and/or themselves, to attend support groups. Remember though – such an adventure is not for you alone! It is also for the benefit of your afflicted loved one. Therefore, regardless of your personal comfort zone concerning such things, during the course of your initial and quite demanding learning curve I encourage you to join a support group. Who knows but perhaps just a bit later… probably after you’ve learned at least some of the basics of care giving, you may even wish to start an Alzheimer’s Care Group of your own.
Friend, considering the prevailing lack of knowledge and understanding most of us begin/began our Alzheimer’s care giving venture with, each of us needs all the support you can get… mentally, emotionally and educationally. Such support helps to at least somewhat thwart the inevitable mental, emotional and physical drain commonly experienced by Caregivers. A support group offers you the opportunity to gain immediate and immense value because concerning many things peculiar to Alzheimer’s Disease, you have the prospect of face to face discussions… and a needed hug or two, with others who have gone before.
One of many great resources for help in finding or developing a support group, of course, is The Alzheimer’s Association. You are wise to contact them in order to find a local office. Also see on this Site, ‘Links‘.
Next, I recommend you visit…
