By Robert Barron, Staff Writer
Many families have seen the symptoms. Dad or Mom gets forgetful. At first its small things, but then there’s trouble completing familiar tasks, disorientation, mood changes and lost initiative.
Those warning signs could indicate dementia or Alz-heimer’s, diseases hard to understand and even harder to control. AARP states cost of caregiving when it comes to these diseases is $375 billion. A recent study shows 570,000 Oklahomans are caregivers. Some of them find help from those who have been there.
Diana Weber is the facilitator for a local group that meets monthly at the North-ern Oklahoma Development Authority location. The number of attendees varies, but Weber said those who are there can comfort and support each other by telling stories and a simply knowing what each other is going through.
“It’s a way for people to get information about specific issues about ... dementia, and it’s a way of connecting with others,” Weber said.
The group also allows caregivers time away while knowing their loved one is being cared for properly.
Weber emphasized she is not a physician, but she has facilitated the group for nearly eight years and worked with a respite group for caregivers previously. She started attending the Alzheimer’s support group for information. Denny Krick was facilitator at the time, and when he retired she was given the job. She also is a social worker at a dialysis center in Enid.
As she began the job, her father was diagnosed with dementia, a mental deterioration. Alzheimer’s is a disease process that destroys brain cells, resulting in dementia.
Symptoms include behavior changes and loss of communication and judgment and manifest depending on which part of the brain is affected. Short-term memory usually goes first, Weber said.
“Messages are not getting through the brain. They are disrupted somewhere along the way,” she said.
Many do not know how to cope and may correct the individual or get angry with him, which creates more problems.
“It’s important that families understand about the disease and keep the individual involved in regular activities ... and handle the behaviors they see,” she said.
Caregivers can care for themselves by keeping a diary and sticking with it. Weber said record the little victories and go back and review them later. She suggests creating a simple communication network that allows friends to help and to give them something to do if they volunteer.
As many as 5.2 million in the U.S. live with Alzheim-er’s, according to Alzheimer’s Association. Ten million baby boomers will develop the disease, seventh-leading cause of death, in their lifetime.
“Family members share stories and exchange ideas so they realize they aren’t alone,” Weber said. “They aren’t going through this all by themselves.”
