Editor’s Note: The following submission was provided by the Dementia Friendly Community Initiative.
By Marcia James
When people retire, they hope to have many golden years of companionship, family gatherings, and travel. Unfortunately those plans are often derailed by health issues.
Rich and I moved to Whitewater in 1978 when Rich was offered a tenure-track position in the College of Business. He was known for involving students in the reconstruction of the university’s prairie, conducting mini business worlds throughout the state, and having his ‘64 Corvette driven in the Fourth of July parade. His successful teaching career came to a conclusion in January 2007. Travel, camping, golfing and hunting occupied him during retirement. In 2014, he was asked to present our recent trip to Iceland to the Monday Club. Presentations always came easily. However, even though he got up in front of the group and the first slide was displayed, no words came out of his mouth. Over the next seven years, he agreed to see neurologists and therapists; he was tested and tried experimental drugs. Nothing helped.
His FBI agent brother who was three years older was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2015. After he passed in 2017, Rich believed that Alzheimer’s was his future. A car accident due to misjudging distance resulted in his loss of license, which he earned back and then lost again. Driving had been his passion and the keys needed to be hidden.
Although we continued to travel, people went with us. A second set of eyes was needed to ensure his safety. Enter the pandemic, and things got worse. He wanted to find a group of people to socialize with. He was lost three times and risked getting the virus. Our younger son was working for St. Coletta’s and moved home at the beginning of the pandemic and helped immensely.
Our son moved on after we got our vaccinations; decisions needed to be made. The next article will present decisions a caregiver has to make and the support we found in Whitewater.
This article is submitted by Dementia Friendly Community Initiative, a program of Whitewater Seniors in the Park.
https://www.whitewater-wi.gov/273/Seniors-In-the-Park
More resources for caregivers:
