Alzheimer's and my Family

Before entering the subject as such, we must know and know a concept of what Alzheimer's is.

Well, Alzheimer's is a disease that comes to stay mostly in people 65 years and older, it is a type of dementia that progressively causes problems with memory, thinking and one of the things that affects a lot is the behavior of who suffers it.

In my family there are few members, but we have always been united, we help each other whenever someone needs it, and above all, the family comes first.

Last year 2019, it was one of the worst years, I lost one of the most important people in my life; and it is that my grandmother died of a terminal illness such as cancer. He left four (4) siblings, three (3) live in the same city and one (1) lives in another state. Before my grandmother died, she wanted her older brother (86 years old) to live in the same house and just as she requested, we fulfilled it because they were her last wishes.

This is where it all begins. I have a relative (my grandmother's older brother), 86 years old, he lived for some time alone after his wife passed away, he had memory loss but something slight, it was years later when he arrived at my house and we realized that they had things worsened and that would be a new challenge for everyone; Living with a family member who suffers from Alzheimer's requires a lot of time and dedication, many times we come to think that it is an insurmountable experience. We think that no matter how much we do to help that person, it will be of no use; However, as time went by, we understood that by uniting more as a family we could get by with my uncle and his illness.

It has been 1 year and 6 months since my uncle arrived at the house, day by day we must face new challenges, new circumstances, but we serve him as he deserves, with patience, dedication and optimism, although sometimes he becomes a bit aggressive. , we continue to give you all the love you deserve.

My uncle is a person who in his moments of lucidity, is very funny, he remembers all his friends and family, tells us anecdotes about his past and even sings, sometimes he tells me "nephew, find me a microphone that I want to sing one of my songs ", many times he eats a lot, and drinks a lot of water, but we understand it because it is because of his own illness. The truth is that despite everything, it is very gratifying to see a family member who suffers from Alzheimer's full of life and willing to continue fighting.

To this day, my uncle leads an excellent life, he always takes his medicines prescribed by the doctor and we as a family do everything possible for his well-being.

People who suffer from Alzheimer's despite their condition, should be treated the same, not despised, discriminated against or offended by their behaviors, since they are people who are not fully aware of what they are doing, we must remain calm and although we tend To be a bit tedious, it is best to have as much patience as possible.

Over time, we have learned fundamental things both for the well-being of the person who suffers from a disease, and for the person who cares for him.

• When taking care of your family member, we must take care of ourselves too, although it sounds a little trivial, people who care for a loved one with this disease must find a way to balance between caring and staying well with themselves. Try to find a way to disconnect from the world for a few hours and avoid "burning out" as a caregiver.

• It is very important to create and carry out a routine, either with the same spaces, people, phrases, since people with this disease tend to live better and do not suffer alterations due to the constant changes they suffer daily. We have realized that my uncle for some time now has been calmer and less aggressive when at a certain time every day he sees the same person doing the same thing, attending to him. He even remembers the name of my mother, who in this case is in charge of taking care of him at that time.

• We must be calm, not lose calm or patience, this is very important at times when our loved one becomes restless. It is the best we can do, even if they do not remember anything, they can perceive and realize when we treat them badly and that makes them desperate and that is when they tend to get aggressive, they can hit you, spit or throw any object they have at their disposal. scope.

The best of all my friends, is to keep calm, have a lot of patience and give all the love possible to those family members who need it so much.

This has been my story, thanks for reading me.