I Am A Mother And My Daughter Has Alzheimer’s

Until a few years ago it was thought that only the children would have to deal with this disease, as this disease would probably affect their parents. However, the roles have changed and nowadays there  are many parents who have to look after their children with Alzheimer’s.

Early Alzheimer’s tears your life apart

Jason was a very lively young American of just 36 and a hard worker. A little over a year ago he had started writing notes on his hands to remember things: he could not keep to the schedules and one day he got lost on the way back home. Suddenly, in Christmas 2012, he realized he was unable to mount the lights that were supposed to decorate his home.

He felt very confused and began to doubt everything, so he decided to go to the psychologist who in turn referred him to a neuropsychologist. After several tests, the diagnosis was clear. Jason was suffering from Alzheimer’s at the young age of 36. His life was very short and he died in 2013.

The Jason and Mari cases are not isolated. Early Alzheimer’s destroys the lives of many young people who have just started families, who have already achieved many of their goals and who are caught by the disease as they look to the future with eyes full of desire and enthusiasm for new experiences.

This disease can begin to manifest itself with small forgetfulness and memory problems that we consider normal. However, they may only be the preliminary stage of a diagnosis whose causes are still unclear.

Another important issue regarding Alzheimer’s is its origin. There are various controversies on this point, given that there are few people who suffer from this disease due to genetics or family history. Despite this, it is still an aspect that can be taken into consideration. Furthermore, Alzheimer’s can be associated with a traumatic event, physical or psychological, or with type 2 diabetes.

Early warning symptoms

“I can’t say what I would like”, “I forget everything quickly”, “when they ask me why I ask the same question again, I feel ashamed and lock myself in the bathroom crying”, said Carmen, 54-year-old university professor years, explains his experience with this disease.

The first warning symptoms can go completely unnoticed. To the point of pushing us not to give them due importance. However, we must be very careful as they can be the preliminary stage of the onset of this disease at an early age. What are the factors to which you should pay special attention?

• Lack of newly learned information and a great need for more and more help to remember things (dates, events, etc.).
• Difficulty concentrating, solving problems, or doing things take much longer than they actually take.
• Problems driving or managing bills.
• Disorientation of time and space in which we live.
• Problems with the use of words: you cannot find a synonym or say that word.
• Loss of initiative or mood swings.

Many parents feel the world collapsing upon them when they discover that their child has this disease. All parents who become aware of the facts cannot avoid tears.  Alzheimer’s is a very complicated disease that, at the moment, has no cure. Before it only affected the elderly, now it also affects young people.