• The required coverpage is not included on this page. Posting the paper to the internet has changed the format (i.e. spacing & indenting), be sure to follow the format required by the the syllabus.
• This paper is from Fall 98. Instructor's corrections/comments are in (red parentheses).

(Very Interesting, 24/25 points)

_____I attended the Alzheimer's Support Group at the Oddfellow's Home in Checotah, Oklahoma on Wednesday, November 11, 1998 at 12:30pm. There were three support group members present. All three were spouses of deceased Alzheimer's patients. I was impressed that the group had evolved and stayed together after all of their spouses had died. It was apparent that they have formed close friendships and enjoy being able to reminisce about their spouses with someone that can understand what the last few years of their lives were like. It was also obvious that their friendship extended outside of their meetings.

_____Two of the members described a sudden, shocking event that lead to the diagnosis of the disease. One event involved a series of vivid, bizarre hallucinations over a one day period. The other member said her husband never had hallucinations, but that he told her she looked familiar and introduced himself to her like he didn't know her. Both of these members eventually put their spouses in a nursing home facility.

_____The third member said that his wife's diagnosis was a long process and that there was not a sudden event that lead to it. He said that she was effected by the disease for at least ten years, and he cared for her at home until she died.

_____All three members related stories of their spouses getting angry, being stubborn, forgetting things, and trying to "take off" in the car or on foot. The spouses of the members were also physically strong and used their strength to show and exercise their independence. One of the more interesting things that they shared was a decrease in pain, they all said that they didn't think that their spouses experienced pain anymore. (-This is interesting.)

_____There was also great difficulty getting them to eat. Two of the members spoke about their choice to refuse enteral feeding. "Nothing could cure what was really wrong with him. Alzheimer's doesn't have a cure." and "That's one of the reasons that I kept her at home, I wanted control over what happened to her. I just didn't see any reason to put her through that."

_____Nobody got enough sleep, they were always worried about their spouses getting up during the night and getting hurt or wandering off. They laughed at the contraptions and alarms they designed to awaken them if their spouses were out of bed or roaming around the house.

_____There were several nods of agreement between the members, showing that they understood or experienced the same things. Because they have known each other for so long, they knew each other's stories and situations. This allowed them to share things with the group without much explanation. The most obvious support that I saw in the group was laughter. They had some of the same frustrating experiences and were able to help each other look back at them and see the humor in them. They would even lead into or relate each other's stories to the conversation. It was obvious that this was a very tight knit group. They talked about other things going on in their lives and asked each other about the people that were absent.

_____I really enjoyed meeting with the group and I'm really glad that I went. All of the nursing home residents that I was assigned to were diagnosed with dementia and the support group was really enlightening. I see the importance of taking care of the caregiver as well, that is an exhausting, frustrating job. Caregivers should be educated about possible behaviors and problems before they happen and they should be encouraged to ask for help when they need it. The constant demands of caring for someone with Alzheimers is all consuming and caregivers should be reminded to take care of themselves, (Right) get enough sleep, and find a way to get a break now and then. Patience is essential in caring for people with the disease. Even their family members were frustrated and angry with them at times and you must remember that they can't help it and sometimes they just can't understand. If they get angry it's probably because they are confused and if they don't want to do something, try waiting a few minutes and trying again. Staying calm and remembering what the disease does to the person is the way to handle difficult situations with Alzheimer clients. (I hope you will use this group to refer family members.)

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