Alzheimer's care
I ran across an interesting question asked by an Alzheimer's caregiver and blogger of Life From the Porch. The author asks, "If you were the one with AD, how would you like to be cared for?"
This is a very interesting question, especially from an Alzheimer's caregiver. Personally, I'm not sure I know how I'd like to be cared for. I know I'd like to be comfortable. I'd like to be given as much independence as possible, as long as I'm safe and healthy. I'm sort of a clean freak (okay, a huge clean freak!), so being kept clean and living in a clean environment would be important to me. All that aside, it's still really difficult to explain exactly how I'd like to be cared for when so little is understood about the disease. As the disease progresses through its stages, would I even understand my needs or desires any longer? Would I be able to communicate my needs?
Because of all the unknowns, including my answer, I'm grateful to all the dedicated and loving Alzheimer's caregivers out there. Caregiving takes a tremendous amount of talent. It's a 24-hour job with little down time and a lot of challenge. To get a better understanding of the role of an Alzheimer's caregiver, read through Sarah Goodwin's "Chronicle of Caregiver."
Now it's your turn, if you were the one with AD, how would you like to be cared for?
This is a very interesting question, especially from an Alzheimer's caregiver. Personally, I'm not sure I know how I'd like to be cared for. I know I'd like to be comfortable. I'd like to be given as much independence as possible, as long as I'm safe and healthy. I'm sort of a clean freak (okay, a huge clean freak!), so being kept clean and living in a clean environment would be important to me. All that aside, it's still really difficult to explain exactly how I'd like to be cared for when so little is understood about the disease. As the disease progresses through its stages, would I even understand my needs or desires any longer? Would I be able to communicate my needs?
Because of all the unknowns, including my answer, I'm grateful to all the dedicated and loving Alzheimer's caregivers out there. Caregiving takes a tremendous amount of talent. It's a 24-hour job with little down time and a lot of challenge. To get a better understanding of the role of an Alzheimer's caregiver, read through Sarah Goodwin's "Chronicle of Caregiver."
Now it's your turn, if you were the one with AD, how would you like to be cared for?
Tags: alzheimer's, caregiving
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Stephanie on -
That's a tough question Jody. Being 20, it's hard to imagine having AD or having to deal with the issues of how I would like to be cared for. I think the most important thing to me would be to be treated with respect. Even though I may be losing my memory I would want to be treated with the same respect and dignity that I would if I was not suffering from AD. I would not want to be a burden on my family, but I would hope for quality care either from a nursing home or someone experienced with the disease. I would not want to give all the responsibility to a member of my family. After spending so much time researching AD and reading blogs from caregivers I wouldn't want to put all that stress on a loved one. I also have a great amount of respect for caregivers out there, but I wouldn't want to become a burden to my loved ones.
WHY WE HAVE ADS
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