From the desk of Rosemary Laird, MD
Founder of Navigating Aging Needs (NAN), LLC
Alzheimer's and Motherhood
Aside from the enormous impact on mental and physical health that a caregiver experiences as a result of the stress of their day-to-day duties, there is also often a profound impact on the overall relationship between mother and her caregiver as the disease progresses. After all, each person has spent years in certain well-defined roles, and then in a short time many of the dynamics of the relationship may undergo dramatic changes.
Keeping Your Orbit!
Your caregiving activities create the ordinary cycles of daily life such as eating, sleeping, and bathing, keeping you “in orbit” with your loved one on a continual basis. I’m sure that as a caregiver, it can sometimes feel as though you are a satellite locked in a gravitational vise around your loved one’s needs. At the same time, the progression of the disease can sometimes change the overall dynamics of your relationship over time.
Keeping Your Identity
Sometimes it seems that the world is changing so quickly that you feel like your head is swimming and you are losing your sense of balance. Any transition can be unnerving, and that is particularly true for people caring for a loved one suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.