Alzheimer's Disease Support Group
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia and characterized by progressive cognitive deterioration with declining activities of daily living and neuropsychiatric symptoms or behavioral changes. An early symptom is memory loss (amnesia), usually manifesting as minor forgetfulness that becomes pronounced with illness progression, with relative...
It occurred to me yesterday that our debate about health care is much like how we view any long term devastating illness. We don't want to think about and as long as it doesn't affect us directly we won't do anything about it. Like how we abandon Alz patients to 'others' so long as we don't have to face it. And the people who are left taking care of them have limited funds and resources.
It just doesn't seem fair that we, the caregivers, who have already given so much of ourselves to the process, then become poverty stricken when we can't do it any longer.
I have just enough money saved to live modestly for 15 or 20 years.
This could all disappear if I have to place Ron in a nursing home for
2 or 3 years. Then I will be below the poverty level and have no resources to fall back on. I'm scared and mad.