Some Aspects of Alzheimer’s

Following on last month’s review of Malcolm Goldsmith’s new book “In a Strange Land” and the death of Ronald Reagan, who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, “The Sign” spoke to Mary Moffett about this ailment which mainly affects elderly people.

Quoting from Malcolm’s book, Mary stressed the value of the personality and the gift of life within each individual. “The person who has dementia, who has some sort of breakdown within their brain, is still a person, and we should never forget that. A person who loses a limb is still a person. So is someone with heart problems, so is someone with cancer….” Advances in medicine have meant longer lives for many, but the other side of this is that we are having to learn to live with degenerative illnesses while researchers look for causes and cures.

Becoming ‘a bit forgetful’ is accepted as a normal part of getting older. Mary pointed out that although forgetfulness was a feature of Alzheimer’s, being a little forgetful was not necessarily a symptom of having the disease. There should not be undue cause for concern unless there were repeated or persistent occurrences of disorientation – for example going out shopping and forgetting the reason why – having difficulty in recalling appointments, or which day of the week it is (primarily related to short term memory). In such cases consulting a doctor could be a good move. Progressive forgetfulness could lead to putting oneself or others in danger, for example leaving doors open, or not turning off the cooker. And an early diagnosis gives the opportunity for care and treatment.

The experience of Alzheimer’s has been described by one person as: “To me, it's like knitting with a knotted ball of wool. Every now and again I come to a knot. I try to unravel it but can't, so I knit the knot in. As time goes by, there are more knots.”

Preserving the quality of life is important, as, for the sufferer, Alzheimer’s can manifest itself as frustration and fear of loss of independence. This is true, of course, of many ageing processes. Support and understanding from loved ones and carers is vital and enables situations to be seen from a more positive side. An example quoted in “In A Strange Land” is the following: “A friend of mine enjoys listening to tapes of radio comedy programmes whilst travelling. He admits that his wife finds this very trying as she has heard them so many times before, but, because he cannot remember them, each time he hears a joke he bursts into laughter – it is as though he was hearing it for the first time.”

We asked Mary how St Cuthbert’s was addressing the question of dementia and Alzheimer’s. She pointed to the tradition of caring within the community and the ecumenical sharing between the Churches in Colinton. It is part of a Christian way of life to hold out our hand to others in need. We must accept people for what they are, not shun them, give them time, space and understanding. In the case of dementia, we should make gentle offers of assistance and give reminders of memorable events and offer to help the person to attend. We should anticipate things they like and foresee what they might forget. We should cultivate a positive and supportive attitude within our community.

That way we can include the elderly amongst us, we can learn from them, share their experience and help them to grow older with dignity.

The Sign, with Mary Moffett

Here are some suggestions and practical tips that people with dementia have said work for them.

• Keep a note book or diary. Write down important things you want to remember, such as appointments, people’s names, lists of things to do, any thoughts and ideas you want to remember

• Pin a weekly timetable to the wall. Add things to it as you think of them

• Keep important things such as money, keys and glasses in the same place every time.

• Have a daily newspaper delivered. The date and the day of the week are always on the front page. Or have a clock with the date on it as well

• Have a routine. Doing things in the same order each time is often helpful.

• Put labels on cupboards or drawers to remind you where things are

• Place helpful telephone numbers by the phone where you can see them

• Write reminders to yourself to lock the door at night or put the rubbish out on a certain day, for example. Put a note on the front door to remind yourself to take your keys with you.

• Don't be afraid to ask questions, to say you have not understood or that you have forgotten what has been said

• If you are unable to find the right word come back to it later.

• Don't feel you have to rush things. Allow more time than you perhaps need. Concentrating on what you do helps some people.

• Modern technology is helpful for some people. Telephones allow you to programme peoples names and telephone numbers. Picture telephones also exist where buttons are replaced with photographs of people. To ring a person, you need only press the picture. Many watches have alarms that can act as reminders.

• Install safety devices such as gas detectors and smoke alarms

• Keep up the skills that you still have.

(By courtesy of Alzheimer’s Society: http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/)

“In a Strange Land: People with Dementia and the Local Church.”

 Written by Malcolm Goldsmith, published 2004 by 4M Publications, Southwell (ISBN 0 9530494 6 9). Further information from the website: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/dementia or contact “The Sign”.