Family Caregivers Face Heartbreaking Journey With Alzheimer’s Disease, Often Ending Up In Hospice
by Richard Kuehn on 08/24/21
There was a heart breaking article in the Wall Street Journal
recently. It featured Nick Clement, age 78, who has cared for his wife
Lucy for the past decade. Lucy has Lewy body dementia as well as
Alzheimer’s disease. Nick wanted to take care of his wife, however, he
quickly found out how difficult it is taking care of someone who is slipping
rapidly into dementia. As her disease progressed, she was unable to brush
her teeth or comb her hair, so Nick did that too. He said that some
friends stopped calling, which can be heartbreaking. Eventually, after
Lucy had dropped from https://www.homecaremag.com/june-2021/buzz-vibration-therapy125
pounds down to 90, it took its toll on Nick who was gaunt and depressed.
He had to call in hospice which took over Lucy’s care. Hospice asked Nick
if he had told Lucy it was OK for her to go. He had not, but went to her
room and looked into her eyes and told her he would be alright, it was OK to
go. Sadly, she died the next morning. Unfortunately, most of us
will have to go through this with a family member. If you need help,
CHOMP has a service called Hospice of the Central Coast, as does the Visiting
Nurses Association (see links below). Please reach out for help if you
need it, they both have compassionated caregivers.
https://www.montagehealth.org/care-treatment/hospice/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/one-familys-lessons-learned-from-a-decade-of-caregiving-11623691961
