Miserable

If Alzheimer’s disease progresses naturally, the patient will eventually lose the ability to walk, and the caregivers will need to use a wheelchair to move the patient. Finally, the patient becomes bedridden. If the patient and caregivers are lucky and the caregivers do the best they can, the process may not be so bad.

This is not always the case. Some patients wander around. In some cases, they get lost and never come back. Some have accidents and pass away. Alzheimer’s patients may have other diseases, and some die because of them.

My mother had Alzheimer’s disease. First, she needed a wheelchair, and then she became bedridden. Finally, she stopped breathing and passed away. It took about twenty years. Many people helped us. We were all lucky. I did as much caregiving as I could.

My mother and I commuted to a hospital that specialized in dementia. There were many Alzheimer’s patients in the waiting room who were in different stages of the disease.

While my mother could walk by herself, I saw patients who needed to use wheelchairs. I thought that was miserable. I imagined it took caregivers a huge effort to take care of them.

About ten years later, my mother also needed to use a wheelchair. When I visited the same hospital, I saw Alzheimer’s patients who could walk by themselves, and I thought completely the opposite: “Oh, that patient can walk by themselves. It must take the caregivers a huge effort to keep the patient safe. It must be miserable.”

According to a book, the early stage is the most difficult when taking care of a person with Alzheimer’s disease. Caregiving will gradually become easier as the disease progresses. From a caregiver’s point of view, a bedridden patient is the easiest to deal with.

I remember feeling relieved when my mother lost the ability to walk. It meant I didn’t need to watch her all the time. If we used a wheelchair, I could move at my own pace. It was hard to help her when she was still tottering. I needed to look out for small bumps and steps.

If your loved one has Alzheimer’s disease, it is miserable, but how miserable you are cannot be judged by surface appearances. Those caring for people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease experience the hardest life. They and their elderly relatives might look normal. We can’t know who is miserable from their appearance.

 

Proofreading by Michael W, ProofreadingServices.com

Picture by Izumi Kobayashi