| Having spent my career as a Medical Social | | | | The window is often foggy, half open, closed or |
| Worker and Elder Abuse Investigator it seems | | | | completely clear. There is no timetable that will |
| natural for me to share some insight for those | | | | report what is going on inside the window. The |
| family members and caregivers working with | | | | foggy window represents the normal goings on |
| victims of Alzheimer's disease. | | | | with the early or mid-stage person with |
| I will not take a Physiological and Psychological | | | | Alzheimer's. The half-open state is the obvious |
| approach for delivering information. I will leave that | | | | fluctuations between clarity and confusion. It is |
| to Physicians and Therapists. What I would like to | | | | during this phase that most agitation, suspicion, |
| share is some practical information that has | | | | aggression and fear are displayed. This is the |
| proven helpful to my clients and their families and | | | | most difficult time for the caregiver and the most |
| caregivers. | | | | emotionally painful for the person being cared for. |
| First of all, I will say that being with a loved one | | | | The closed or end-stage is the most painful for |
| or patient with Alzheimer's type dementia is | | | | the caregiver. The person behind the window is |
| difficult if not heartbreaking. Seeing a person often | | | | no longer home and often recognizes no one or |
| familiar or most dear in an abyss of memory loss | | | | nothing around him or her. |
| takes determination and strength. The greatest | | | | Activity in the affected brain is erratic and |
| barrier to appropriate care is accepting the | | | | therefore there are often periods of clarity, |
| relationship must change and must become | | | | comprehension with appropriate behaviors and |
| flexible. It is the burden of the caregiver to initiate | | | | responses. Knowing how to respond to these |
| these changes in order to provide safe and loving | | | | changes can reduce the burden of care, increase |
| care. | | | | the safety of the cared for and bring some |
| The nature of this illness fluctuates and the direct | | | | peace of mind and acceptance for the caregiver. |
| caregiver would benefit from being able to do the | | | | In my next article I will address some basic |
| same, emotionally and practically. Visualize the | | | | strategies for coping with and managing the |
| mind of the patient or loved one as a window. | | | | phases described above. |