My Great-Aunt and Alzheimer’ Disease

 

 My grandmother’s sister was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2007. Her husband had already passed away. They didn’t have a child. She lived by herself. When I realized she had Alzheimer’s disease, I started to support her. I called her every morning and helped her take her medicine. I visited her every week to clean her house. I took her to a hospital every month. I did these for three years until she passed away.

 Both my mother and my great-aunt had Alzheimer’s disease. Both of them were smart and intelligent when they were young. My great-aunt had a lot of books in her house and was a master of the traditional tea ceremony, sado. She was also great practitioner of traditional Japanese archery, kyudo. She was chosen as a participant in the annual nationwide archery competition in Kyoto many times.

 I heard it is rare for an Alzheimer’s patient to realize the disease themselves. But apparently, my great-aunt knew she had it. She tried to establish some countermeasures for the disease by herself.

1.    She took a walk every day. It was at risk for getting lost. But in my great-aunt’s case, it worked effectively. She took a walk at the same time and on the same route every day. This decreases the risk of getting lost. She tried to inform neighbors about herself. She actually had many acquaintances in the area.

2.    She quit cooking to prevent fires. She ate breakfast in the same café. She bought lunch in the same market. She ate dinner in the same restaurant. I had the opportunity to meet the shopkeeper of the café, who called me whenever my great-aunt had a problem.

3.    She also destroyed the bath in her house and used a public bath. Many elderly people tend to die when they take a bath. In a public bath, someone could help her if she was having trouble. In her house, I found some items belonging to the public bath that she forgot to give back.

4.    She retained the newspaper and milk delivery. I knew she was not interested in any news and that she didn’t drink milk, so I suggested that she cancel these. But she stubbornly refused. I didn’t know a system for this. If one didn’t take in their newspaper or milk from one’s post for a long time, the delivery office would inform the police station. Policemen would come for a safety check. If the worst happened to my great-aunt, a policeman would find her.

5.    She invited a Buddhist monk every month-anniversary of her late husband’s death to pray. If the worst happened to her, the monk would find her in a month. She didn’t do this when she was young.

These are all I could do and remember. Maybe she did other countermeasures. Basically she tried to establish relationships with many people. An Alzheimer’s patient tends to be reclusive, but my great-aunt dared to keep going out.

 One day, when my great-aunt and I were walking together, an old lady came across us and whispered to me, “She has a mental problem.”

I answered, “I knew it. She is supported by the government, too.”

After the old lady walked away from us, my great-aunt said to me, “I am sure she said I have a mental problem, right?”

I was surprised that my great-aunt knew her disease. I was also surprised that my great aunt knew some neighbors were telling rumors about her.

 Going out as an Alzheimer’s patient results in many acquaintances. Some of them could be supporters, but others could be full of gossip. She knew that, but she bravely kept going to the café, the market restaurant, and the public bath. She courageously confronted the disease by herself.

 What I did was just a little backup.

Picture by teltel-woo