Takeaways from May 24th

Caroline's grandmother Ruby started experiencing the symptoms of Alzheimer's in her early 70's, was  soon diagnosed, and lived around another 7 years. What makes Alzheimer's so exceptionally hard is that the individual's  loved ones not only watch the progression of their family member's disease, but  also have to experience their spouse, mother, father, etc., forgetting who they are. Caroline's grandmother was no exception. Though an OT would certainly help with ADLs  and optimize the fleeting executive function of their client, I think a BIG role for the therapist is family education. Therapists must help their client's family achieve the impossible of not taking things personally when  their loved one  genuinely seems to lose the memory of their lifelong relationships.. It's so sinister that relationships are forgotten in old age, when those relationships have had time to become so deeply rooted and produce so much beautiful fruit. Alzheimer's stinks.