The Star Tribune shared a piece that originally appeared in the New York Times, and we thought it was worth sharing here. In this first-person account from Elizabeth Wolf of caring for her parents while they live with dementia, Mrs. Wolf shares some of the hardship of her role of caregiver to her elderly parents. Included in her account are allusions to the process of diagnosing her parents and of seeking therapy for herself to “stay alive” in the midst of a trying and open-ended situation. Here’s an excerpt, and if you’re in Northeast Ohio and believe that you or someone you love may be showing symptoms of Alzheimer’s or dementia, or if you’re caring for an adult dependent and could benefit from seeing a therapist, we hope you’ll reach out.
My parents called me one day in March and started singing “Happy Birthday.” It was unsettling. My birthday is in May.
My uncle called, too. He and my father had owned an upholstery shop in Philadelphia for 50 years, and it was really bothering him that my dad couldn’t do simple math anymore.
I don’t remember all the doctors’ appointments that led to Dad seeing a neurologist, but I do remember they subjected him to the mini-mental test. He came away from that examination with an Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
We were very concerned about my mother, too. She was asking us the same questions over and over. I said I’d talk to the teacher whose classroom she worked in as an aide.
The teacher said, “Your mother is basically not functioning. She just sits at a table in the back and stares out the window.”