Alzheimer’s Turns Two Lives Upside Down
Every 66 seconds someone in the United States is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. In fact 35 percent of those caregivers say their own health has declined because of it.
When we first met with Jane and John, they were facing multiple crises. Jane had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and was also having difficulty with her balance. Because of her memory loss and other cognitive issues, she could no longer manage everyday household tasks like laundry and meals and had trouble monitoring her medications.
John felt the pain and fear of losing his wife to the disease, but he was also overwhelmed by her care. He knew he couldn’t continue to manage it on his own.
A care plan to address both partners’ needs
Without other family members to provide routine help, we developed a care plan that would cover Jane’s care management and offer John emotional support and relief from the everyday responsibilities of caregiving.
Our plan for Jane included:
- Physical therapy to help increase range of motion and balance
- Housekeeping
- Nutritional plan to reduce salt intake from processed foods
- Healthcare plan that involved identifying and developing relationships with new physicians, managing appointments and doing medical interventions
- Medication management
- Therapeutic socialization to reduce Jane’s feelings of loneliness and isolation
Our plan for John included:
- Counseling to provide coping techniques to understand dementia and reduce his anxiety and agitation due to individual loss
- Increased couple time to encourage and enhance connection
- Relief from the day-to-day management of his wife’s care
A better life together
The care plan helped the couple achieve a level of stability and allowed them to self-manage their behavior and the illness itself. The nutritional plan and physical therapy increased Jane’s overall health and helped minimize her risk of falls. The new doctors worked well together and Jane’s monitoring program helped effectively manage all her medications. With both partners feeling better physically and mentally, their relationship improved.