Signs A Parent With Alzheimer's Need Full-Time Care
People struggling with Alzheimer's can stay living at home alone for months or years in many cases, and this is because the symptoms and effects of Alzheimer's do not typically come on strong at first. Instead, they gradually appear and worsen over time. If your parent has Alzheimer's, you may need to move him or her from home to a place that offers full-time care, but it is hard to know when the right time is to do this. Here are some signs that your parent is probably ready to receive full-time care at a place like Alta Ridge Communities.
Getting Lost
If your parent still travels by car or can walk places, you may start to worry when he or she travels and ends up getting lost. When a person initially gets this disease, he or she typically will not get lost. As the disease progresses, though, things like this can start to happen. Your parent might set out on foot or in a car and totally forget where he or she is going. This can not only be frightening for your parent, but it can also be dangerous, and it can leave you worried all the time.
Forgetting People
As a person develops Alzheimer's, it's likely that he or she will forget words or names of people that he or she does not see or talk to often, but this can get a lot worse over time. Over time, your parent may no longer recognize you or people he or she normally sees and knows. This is a sure sign that he or she needs full-time care.
This can also be hard for you to deal with, especially if you and your parent were very close. When your parent can no longer remember who you are, it can cause a lot of emotions and feelings. You should realize that this is part of the disease. Your parent cannot control or help this.
Making Bad Decisions
Another problem that can occur with Alzheimer's is a decline in the ability to have good judgement. As this problem starts to occur, your parent might begin to make bad decisions. For example, he or she might give away a whole bunch of money to someone he or she doesn't even know. Your parent might also begin to talk in ways that do not make sense or plan things that seem irrational or strange. When these things occur, it might be time to consider moving your parent to a place that offers full-time care.
Losing Memories
People with Alzheimer's often remember details from many years ago, but this is not always the case. A lot of people will start forgetting things that happened. For example, a woman might forget she had a husband and that he died.
In addition, people with this disease often forget things that recently happened, and this can be as recent as a few seconds ago. This is why people with Alzheimer's often ask the same questions over and over. They forget that they asked, and they forget what the answer was.
Memory loss occurs in stages for most people with Alzheimer's. It can begin very mildly, but it can get very bad over time. Eventually, this disease can rob a person's entire memory and ability to talk or communicate.
People with Alzheimer's can usually live alone during the initial stages of this disease, but most people with this disease will eventually need help. If you feel that your parent needs full-time care for this, you should look into a facility that specializes in caring for people with dementia and Alzheimer's.