Alzheimer's - a Hidden Secret

My wife Cheryl is an RN that does home health care in and around St. Louis, Missouri for many older people, some with Alzheimers. One day she asked me to assist her with an 89 year old female patient with Alzheimers, who's care was being provided by her 70 year old daughter. The daughter became ill with the flu, so she was taking appropriate measures not to infect her mother by staying out of her room. She needed someone that could stay with her mother 20 hours a day for two weeks. Her mother needed someone that could help her do basic activities and render assistance should she fall. I previously worked in a Nursing Home as a volunteer for 3 years assisting Alzheimers patients, so I was confident I had the skills needed to assist her. Cheryl briefed me thoroughly on her special needs and I started the job.

The daughter told me things I should know about her mother that would help me in taking care of her. One of the things she told me was that her mother hallucinated at times and would see things that were not there. She also said her mother had a hearing impairment, compounded with bad eyesight.

The name of the lady I was taking care of was Eunice. I spent my first day getting to know her daily routine. She would normally sit quietly in her recliner in front of the television, which she could not see or hear very well. I would sit on the couch next to her while she mostly napped. Every once in a while she would awaken and say something that made you thing she was still half asleep or hallucinating. This happened a few times throughout the day. Later that day I helped her eat dinner and helped her to bed by 10 pm. She slept peacefully through the night.

The next morning a home health care provider came in at 8:30. I got off and went home for 4 hours. The care provider got her up and gave her a shower, changed her cloths, cooked breakfast and fixed her hair. When I arrived at 1:30 pm, Eunice was sitting peacefully in her chair. This would be the routine for the next two weeks.

By now I was getting to know Eunice. One evening while I was sitting on the couch and Eunice in her chair, she suddenly said, "Who does that little child belong to?" She was looking toward the tv and I thought maybe she had seen something that was on the television. What she was referring to was the laptop computer that was on my lap. It took me a little while to figure that out. Most of the time when you talk with her, she may or may not understand you. Everyone thought that was because of her Alzheimers. This time I went over to her and got close to her ear and explained that it was my laptop computer and not a child. She understood that perfectly. Each time she said something I went and talked in her ear and we understood each other. We actually started having normal conversations. She would tell me about her childhood and more recent events that you would not expect from someone with Alzheimers.

I was beginning to realize that Eunice had adapted to her world of not hearing or seeing very well. Everyone would just adapted to her the way they perceived her, with Alzheimers. I called and explained these things to my wife and she came over and observed first hand about Eunice. She agreed that Eunice's hearing and eyesight problem was perhaps overlooked at times and people probably blamed her inability to understand on her Alzheimers.

I think if I had not spent so many hours with Eunice, I may not have uncovered her secret. I often look back at my days with Eunice and am very happy to have had the opportunity to have given her that time in her life where she probably felt like a normal person again. When her daughter recovered from the flu my job was done and Eunice went back to her normal routine. I will now always wonder how many other people with Alzheimers are keeping a secret.