Tag Archives: Alzheimer’s disease

Shadows in the Night

Imagine living your night time dreams and nightmares when awake, This is the experience of people with Alzheimer’s disease and suffering from a condition called sundowners or sundowning. Fantastical images, past memories, and present activities jumble together for a disturbing reality. As the sun rises later in the day, and sets earlier in the evening, […]

Visiting Memory Care Homes

Adding to the heartbreak of having a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented families from viewing memory care homes and seeing their loved ones once they were placed. I can only imagine how difficult this was. Visiting my husband, Marshall, as often as I wished allowed me to remain close to him […]

In the End, Will You Remember God?

If your faith is solid, will it carry you through your life even if you develop dementia? I believe it is possible. Your faith may even grow stronger. My husband, Marshall, was a believer raised in a devout family, but, from my observation, he did little to build on his spiritual foundation. He rarely went […]

New Blood Test for Alzheimer’s Disease

The earlier someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease the earlier treatment may begin. The ability to plan for the future and utilize resources may then be done before cognition is diminished. Finally, a blood test is market-ready that can identify amyloid plaque, the strongest pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease in the brain. C2N Diagnostics’ PrecivityAD™ […]

Is It Normal Aging?

What It’s Like Your husband went out to run some routine errands and said he would be back in an hour. Four hours later he calls from a clerk’s phone at a convenience store across town. He doesn’t know where he’s been or where he is. This is not the first time, and it will […]

Love from a Distance

When Marshall was at the end of his life, he was surrounded by family. We smothered him with love. I am especially grateful to have held his hand through his last breath and my head close to his while listening intently to his final gasp. COVID has robbed families of this blessing. If your elderly […]

Easy Test with Big Answers

Do you struggle to remember names? Do you forget where you are going or what you wanted to do? Is it difficult for you to complete basic math? When multi-tasking, juggling work, home, and family, or exhausted from a long day, it’s not unusual to forget things. We misplace credit cards and keys, forget to […]

Choosing a Memory Care Home Sight-Unseen

We may be sheltering in place but Alzheimer’s disease is not holding still. It’s doing what it always does. It progresses. There is no cure for this disease. Symptoms may be somewhat controlled with medication and behavioral modification, but loved ones’ health conditions continue to decline. Should the symptoms become unmanageable from the loved one’s […]

COVID-19 Caregiving Challenges

In the best of times, caring for our loved ones with dementia can be stressful. Under the cloud of COVID-19, we can be pushed to our limits. In addition to the round the clock supervision and direction, we have the concerns about sanitation. Loved ones with dementia are typically messy in the bathroom and at […]

One Year Later

Life goes on. Our loved ones pass and it’s a day, a week, a year. Before we know it, it’s 21 years since we last kissed their cheek, as it is with my mother. Our loved ones are frozen in time. We remember them just as we saw them last. But we keep growing older, […]