Pacific Grove, CA Alzheimer's Disease Update: Two Thirds Are Women: View From A Private Duty Caregiver Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gilroy, Gonzalez, Greenfield, Hollister, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, San Juan Bautista, Seaside And Soledad California
Women are living longer and, unfortunately, the longer you live the greater the odds that you will develop dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Two thirds of senior citizens who have Alzheimer's disease are women and the number of men caring for them has more than doubled from 19% in 1997 to 40% by the end of 2011. Sometimes it's the husband or the son or, in my case, my grandmother (I cared for her until she passed away last year at the age of 97). Women are still more likely to be caregivers, but the number of male caregivers is rising dramatically. It's very sad to see seniors getting the disease at a young age. USA Today profiled John Becklenberg who has cared for his wife, age 68, for six years. She was diagnosed with the disease at just 62. They've been together for 42 years and John told the reporter he finds himself sad and lonely on some levels. "Males try to fix stuff. We get out in front of ourselves a little bit too much. But by doing this instead, I ease her anxiety. I think it's helped her in the long run. It's also helped us both keep our integrity and that's important in a relationship," he said. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the disease and John knows there is a cloud looming just over the horizon. His wife's case of Alzheimer's, thus far, has been mild. "I never expected we'd be going through this in our 60's, maybe our 80's, but not at this time of our lives," he said. Thankfully, his wife has not progressed to the stage where she needs help with things like bathing and going to the bathroom. We see this on a daily basis at Family inHome Caregiving and it's very sad. Regular readers of my blog know that I am a big supporter of the Alzheimer's Association, which has a 24-hour help line at 800-272-3900. My grandmother and my father both had this terrible disease when they passed away. They are the largest private supporter of Alzheimer's research in the United States and I believe a cure for this will be found in my lifetime. Please help them with their important mission if you can by clicking on this link for Family inHome Caregiving fundraising site for Alzheimer's Association
http://mediagallery.usatoday.com/More+men+caring+for+women+with+Alzheimer%E2%80%99s/G4262
After more than a decade of caregiving, both in a professional environment and for a 97 year old family member I was dissatisfied with service from local caregiving agencies. I became convinced of the need for a service which provides very personal assistance to elderly and founded Family inHome Caregiving serving the Monterey Peninsula. Please visit my blog where I talk about important senior issues at:
http://www.familyinhomecaregiving.com/Blog
Women are living longer and, unfortunately, the longer you live the greater the odds that you will develop dementia or Alzheimer's disease. Two thirds of senior citizens who have Alzheimer's disease are women and the number of men caring for them has more than doubled from 19% in 1997 to 40% by the end of 2011. Sometimes it's the husband or the son or, in my case, my grandmother (I cared for her until she passed away last year at the age of 97). Women are still more likely to be caregivers, but the number of male caregivers is rising dramatically. It's very sad to see seniors getting the disease at a young age. USA Today profiled John Becklenberg who has cared for his wife, age 68, for six years. She was diagnosed with the disease at just 62. They've been together for 42 years and John told the reporter he finds himself sad and lonely on some levels. "Males try to fix stuff. We get out in front of ourselves a little bit too much. But by doing this instead, I ease her anxiety. I think it's helped her in the long run. It's also helped us both keep our integrity and that's important in a relationship," he said. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the disease and John knows there is a cloud looming just over the horizon. His wife's case of Alzheimer's, thus far, has been mild. "I never expected we'd be going through this in our 60's, maybe our 80's, but not at this time of our lives," he said. Thankfully, his wife has not progressed to the stage where she needs help with things like bathing and going to the bathroom. We see this on a daily basis at Family inHome Caregiving and it's very sad. Regular readers of my blog know that I am a big supporter of the Alzheimer's Association, which has a 24-hour help line at 800-272-3900. My grandmother and my father both had this terrible disease when they passed away. They are the largest private supporter of Alzheimer's research in the United States and I believe a cure for this will be found in my lifetime. Please help them with their important mission if you can by clicking on this link for Family inHome Caregiving fundraising site for Alzheimer's Association
http://mediagallery.usatoday.com/More+men+caring+for+women+with+Alzheimer%E2%80%99s/G4262
After more than a decade of caregiving, both in a professional environment and for a 97 year old family member I was dissatisfied with service from local caregiving agencies. I became convinced of the need for a service which provides very personal assistance to elderly and founded Family inHome Caregiving serving the Monterey Peninsula. Please visit my blog where I talk about important senior issues at:
http://www.familyinhomecaregiving.com/Blog
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