MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2022 - DEMENTIA/ALHEIMZERS

 MONDAY, AUGUST 15, 2022 - DEMENTIA/ALHEIMZERS 

There are a LOT of great charities out there.  I watched a few minutes of the St. Jude’s Golf Tournament yesterday and thought of the work that St. Jude’s does with children (and especially children’s cancer).  There are social causes - poverty; mental causes - depression and suicide; health problems - cancers, alcoholism; and so many more.  I can support my churches (plural) work, educational work, and even give to my musical groups.

I can’t support all things - that’s just the way it is.  Some appeals for support do tug at my heartstrings - but I just can’t afford it.

In the last ten months, I have worked at a senior living facility.  This facility is a comprehensive program with independent living apartments, assisted living quarters, mental health, skilled nursing, and hospice.  For the first months, I was only at the independent living apartments.  Then one of my ladies was moved to the memory unit.  

Since then I’ve been in and out visiting the memory unit.  The memory unit is for those whose brains don’t always function correctly.  

Last night working at the memory unit, one of the other residents in that unit went crazy (but not in a destructive way).  At dinner, he was irate and asked “WHY ARE YOU ALL IN MY HOUSE.  GET OUT OF MY HOUSE”.  He confronted me (as one of the staff), “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE”.  He wandered in and out of rooms asking people to leave his house.  I’ve talked with this gentleman before.  He was an eye surgeon in the past.  I don’t know much more about how his mind got confused.

A month ago, another resident fell and was in a rehab hospital for a week.  I visited her there four times.  She asked the same questions every time:  “At what time do I meet my plane tomorrow?”, “Who is paying for the plane?”, “I have to go home”, “Do you live here (at the rehab hospital)”.  

*****

TWO ADDITIONAL DEMENTIA EXAMPLES.

My father had been driving when he had his first accident at age 92.  I flew to be with my parents and was in the room when the nurse asked a dementia quiz.  He answered the first question with Dwight Eisenhower.  (The question was “Who is the current President of the United States”).  While I don’t remember the other questions, I do remember his answers were almost entirely wrong.  In the week before he died, my wonderful, always loving father got upset about something and threw a book at my mother - his wife of 70 years.

My mother-in-law on most days did not recognize any of her children, but on rare days she did recognize some of her children.  Prior to going to the memory care facility, she would get lost wandering around her neighborhood.

One afternoon at my facility as I was leaving, one of the residents wanted to go out the doors with me to meet her parents who were visiting.  Her parents had long been dead. (For those that don’t know, memory units generally have a coded door to prevent residents from leaving.  

SOME STATISTICS

More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer's. By 2050, this number is projected to rise to nearly 13 million.

1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia. It kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined.

In 2020, COVID-19 contributed to a 17% increase in Alzheimer's and dementia deaths.

In 2022, Alzheimer's and other dementias will cost the nation $321 billion. By 2050, these costs could reach nearly $1 trillion.

In 2022, Alzheimer's and other dementias will cost the nation $321 billion. By 2050, these costs could reach nearly $1 trillion.

In 2021, these caregivers provided more than 16 billion hours of care valued at nearly $272 billion.

Fewer than 1 in 5 Americans are familiar with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which can be an early stage of Alzheimer's.

90% of physicians say it's important to diagnose MCI due to Alzheimer's, but over half say they are not fully comfortable diagnosing it.

About one-third of people with MCI due to Alzheimer's disease develop dementia within 5 years of diagnosis.

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Simple dementia screen tests:

My research suggests that screening for dementia should involve the following areas:

Sense of date and time
(Karen says, in retirement, it seems like all days are Saturdays)

Sense of location

(Karen says, my resident who was in rehab somehow thought she was in Florida and flying to Dallas!!)

Ability to remember a short list of common objects and later, repeat it back

(I try to put the objects into a sentence - like ball, water, Santa Claus, and chicken might be something like this:  Santa Claus was a bit strange.  He liked his chicken cooked in water and then ate it while tossing a ball)

Attention and ability to do basic math, like counting backward from 100 by increments of 7

(Not as easy as it sounds!!!)

Ability to name a couple of common objects

(And, saying “that is a writing device” is probably not specific enough for a pen)

Complex cognitive function, like asking someone to draw a clock 

(I assume they mean a traditional analog clock, not a digital clock!!! <grin>)

As Americans age and the number of senior people with dementia grows, the statistics (above) get higher.  One of my duties at the senior living facility is reminding residents to take their nightly medications.  The concept is twofold - a friendly person stops by their apartment to greet them and spend a few minutes with them and make sure they are taking the right dosages of medications.  I frequently pray with the residents when I visit and tell them they are wonderful and beautiful, and that I love them.

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Research is getting closer to understanding dementia.  But, researchers have families, houses, children, cars (that need gas), and other needs, so the researchers don’t do their jobs for free.  

For my birthday, I have asked friends to donate to the American Alzheimer’s Association to help with their research projects.

And, as always - we need to remember these seniors were parents and may have cared for their parents.  They are human beings - they are part of God’s Kingdom.  We must LOVE THEM - because LOVE WINS!!!

Karen White

Monday, August 15, 2022, ©