Facing The Reality Of Alzheimers

11 Pages 2662 Words

If there is anything worse than watching someone die, it is watching him or her die slowly over a period of 2-20 years. Sadly, Alzheimer patients and their families must face this harsh reality. The first thing people think of at the diagnosis of a loved one with a disease is what treatment they will need to get better. Unfortunately in the case of Alzheimer’s disease, there is no “prince’s kiss” as in a fairy tale, and they will never get better. Assuming the job of caregiver may be difficult, but if you decide that it is your duty or that you want to take on this role, there are some hard facts you need to face, as scary and sad as they might be, before you can become the caregiver that your loved one will desperately need.
One of the most difficult things to understand is going to be the mechanics of how the brain works, and how Alzheimer’s alters the brain. A caregiver with this knowledge, however, will more likely be able to understand the actual course of the disease outside of the actions of the patient. Knowing the actual mechanics of the brain will be helpful in understanding analogies of the disease, and vice versa. With such knowledge you can better help your loved one, because you will be less likely to begin to think that your care and love is reversing the disease. Though the job is stressful, a good caregiver is able to prepare for the stress before it occurs, and knows what types of strategies will appeal to their patient.
A normal human brain is born with approximately one hundred billion neurons, which are passageways in the brain through which the brain sends messages in the form

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of electrical impulses, all working together to perform all of the tasks the brain controls. Synapses are the spaces on the brain between neurons, in the healthy brain, these are clear of any blockades; sending electrical impulses from neuron to neuron without interruption is possible. Dendrites are the “arms” of...