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Dealing with Alzheimer’s Disease

Laurel Hutchinson
Reference Specialist

As any of you who have or have had a loved one in some kind of care facility, you know the guilt that you may put upon yourself for “not being able to take care of them at home” as well as the guilt the loved one may put on you for “throwing them away” (my grandmother’s current feeling). There are all kinds of reasons for people to need to be in various medical or assisted-living facilities, but I’m going to talk about Alzheimer’s Disease and memory loss.

My grandmother is 89 years old, and has rarely been sick. She gets around without any kind of aid and drove until a few months ago. She was very active in volunteer programs, church programs, and many other things. Basically, she could run circles around us. My mother would help her balance her checkbook and deal with some of her business issues, and even filled her medicine box so that she wouldn’t forget to take anything. Then, it got to where my mom was spending hours over at my grandmother’s house each day. She frequently began calling my parents in a panic…she thought she was at the mountains and everybody had just left her and she didn’t know how she would get home. It quickly became obvious that it wasn’t safe for her to be alone, and that she needed more care than my family could provide. So, now, she’s got a suite at an assisted living facility about a mile or so away from my parents’ house. She’s still mad at us about it, at times, but sometimes she’s perfectly happy and doesn’t seem to notice she’s not at home.

So, what is her official diagnosis? Is there something that could make it better or have prevented it? Our medical professionals continue to seek answers to these questions and many more, but we still have a lot to learn about memory loss and disorders. Here at Hickory Public Library, you’ll find books, for example, about what to do if you have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, as well as how to cope with a loved one suffering from it. Here are a few titles to get you started:

• “Alzheimer’s Disease: A Guide for Families” – 616.8 POW
• “The Forgetting: Alzheimer’s: Portrait of an Epidemic” – 616.831 SHE
• “What to Do When the Doctor Says It’s Early-Stage Alzheimer’s” – 616.831 FEI
• “The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for Persons with Alzheimer’s Disease, Related Dementing Illnesses, and Memory Loss in Later Life” – 649.8 MAC