Hi everyone! Today I want to share with you one of the life experiences that has marked me the most: having a family member with Alzheimer's disease. I would like to take advantage of this platform to share my point of view as a caregiver and take advantage of the tools it offers to interact with people who have gone through the same or are beginning to be caregivers and serve as a support. Little by little I will be sharing interesting posts about the disease.
What is Alzheimer's? It is a brain disease, known to cause an irreversible and progressive loss of memory, thus affecting the behavior of the person as well as their cognitive abilities, disrupting the development of their daily life and the way of relating to their environment.
It is a cruel disease that not only affects the patient but also their caregivers, the patient becomes more dependent as the disease progresses. The daily routine for the caregiver intensifies as Alzheimer's disease progresses in the person.
My grandmother’s name was Angela, no doubt she was an Angel. At approximately 70 years old, the first symptoms of the disease began to appear and marked the beginning of a very difficult period for the whole family. I was very small and did not understand what was happening, I saw it normal for my grandmother to behave like a child and forget her things. As I got older her illness progressed and I became more aware of what was happening, without a doubt it is a disease that "steals" your loved ones little by little, until it ruins everything that they once were, what they thought and what they felt.
No doubt as the time passed the difficulties were much bigger, the medications to delay the onset of symptoms were no longer effective and the disease took its course to the point of staying in bed. She was totally dependent on my mother and my family, a patient with Alzheimer's disease needs a lot of very large and delicate care, since they are in a very fragile physical and mental state.
It is essential to be aware of this disease and the importance of early diagnosis in order to provide the patient with all the necessary help in this process. The family is very important because love and union is what will provide the strength to get ahead with this disease that affects millions of people in the world.
In Venezuela, the situation is alarming for elderly patients, as the shortage of medicines and health and personal hygiene items are a major impediment to these people receiving the attention they deserve. The situation in nursing homes and hospitals is fatal and no one deserves to spend their last days sick and without care.
I hope to continue sharing with you many posts about this disease, scientific advances, discoveries, tips for caregivers that allow interaction and help to become aware of this disease. Regards!