Caregiver+Stories

===The stories summarized below are all unpaid caretaker experiences. Some are very personal and really give an idea of how life changing it is to become a caretaker. To read their full stories please feel free to click [|here]for Melissa's story and [|here] for Michel, Harry's, and Mary's view. ===

**Melissa's Story: ** Alzheimer’s Disease: Something’s Not Right With Mom…And Now Dad”, written by Melissa Isaacson, is about a family coping with the loss of both parents diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Isaacson begins her story with questioning her parent’s slow mental decline as they age. Isaacson’s mother was a homemaker and her father was an intelligent business man, both maintained their physical appearance but often forgot things such as recent conversations. Before Isaacson’s parents were seen by a doctor, she and her siblings excuse the forgetfulness as “absent-mindedness” and “having four kids [syndrome]”. Due to the lack of “symptom guidelines for Alzheimer’s” Isaacson and her siblings delayed the inevitable, but her parents were eventually both diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Isaacson was responsible for doctor’s appointments, hiring of caregivers, and her parents finances. Isaacson discusses the stress these responsibilities had on her, like hiring caregivers, because they can have negative consequences on her and her parents. Not only does Isaacson describe the pressure of responsibility she also depicts the trauma of slowly losing her parents to each stage of the disease that has no cure. Isaacson acknowledges the fact that she has to let go of her parents and allow them to die. After her parents pass away she faces the fear of being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s herself. She also realizes she and her siblings are the “caretakers of the family memories” and worries she will forget them. With all the added stress she also becomes aware that no one with the disease can be their own advocate. The reality is Alzheimer’s is a growing epidemic due to the ageing of the “baby boomers”. Isaacson asks our country to recognize that help is needed not only the by patient but the families that are psychologically impacted by the disease.

**Michel, Harry's, and Mary's Views: ** Confronting Alzheimer’s, by Barbara Kantrowitz, Karen Springen, and Anne Underwood, is an article that was published in Newsweek. The article contains interviews of family members caring for other family members who suffer from Alzheimer’s disease. The interviewee’s discuss the impact the responsibility has on them. The article begins by introducing the fact that “millions of baby boomers are caring for parents with Alzheimer’s disease”. The first person who is interviewed is Michel Webb, a 55 year old woman who helps take care of her 81 year old mother afflicted with the disease. Webb compares the disease with others, she points out that “there’s usually a progression, a treatment, and you’re hopeful for a positive end. With Alzheimer’s, there is no positive end.” According to the authors, the statistics show that as of 2007 Alzheimer’s affects over 5 million Americans and 70 percent live at home and are cared for by family. Most of these caretakers are baby boomers who are also concerned with being diagnosed with the disease. Because of this concern more caretakers are becoming advocates. The president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association, Harry Johns, became an advocate when his mother passed away from the disease. He says being a caretaker is “emotionally, physically, and financially draining.” Mary Mittelman says that “the stress is so much worse than caring for someone with another disease.” Mittelman runs the Alzheimer’s support program at NYU. She believes the stress is worse because the disease is full of uncertainty; no case is ever the same. The article goes on to mention many other caregivers’ struggles. Such as having to quit jobs to care for loved ones, fighting between family members because of financial disagreements, and being the victim of a patient’s symptoms such as violent act outs. Support groups are available but between care giving, work, and raising their own kids people don’t have the time to go to meetings. These are just a few struggles mentioned. Some solutions in the article are increasing public awareness to help fund more research and support for bills to be passed to assist with Alzheimer’s families.