{"id":908,"date":"2013-11-07T23:55:47","date_gmt":"2013-11-07T23:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=908"},"modified":"2013-11-06T00:11:01","modified_gmt":"2013-11-06T00:11:01","slug":"alzheimers-disease-caregivers-what-not-to-assume","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2013\/11\/alzheimers-disease-caregivers-what-not-to-assume.html","title":{"rendered":"Alzheimer’s disease caregivers: What not to assume"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image courtesy of worradmu\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As I \u00a0mentioned in a previous post, I am going to focus \u00a0this Alzheimer’s disease Awareness and Education Month on the role and work of the caregiver. \u00a0These amazing men and women (and some younger people) are in the trenches daily, nightly, and they give of their hearts so much that they often don’t think about themselves – or take care of themselves, either. You might be in awe of the neighbor, family member, or coworker whose loved one has Alzheimer’s and still lives at home. And you might be tempted to assume that, because they don’t reach out for help, they don’t need any assistance. But that might not be the case. Here’s why:<\/p>\n

Some caregivers, especially if they are taking care of a family member, might think that others outside the family do not want to have anything to do with helping in a tangible way.<\/p>\n

Others might be so new to the world of Alzheimer’s that they simply do not know what to ask for.<\/p>\n

Caregivers might feel as if they’ll lose friends if they “talk too much” about the struggle they are going through.<\/p>\n

Or, they might be so tired by the end of long, hard days that they are simply too exhausted to make one more phone call or initiate one more conversation.<\/p>\n

So, how should you, as a friend who cares about the caregiver, proceed?<\/p>\n

Ask.<\/p>\n

And if the caregiver says, “Oh, there’s nothing you can really do for me,” ask again.\u00a0Show that your interest in giving assistance, even if it is sitting with the person with Alzheimer’s while the caregiver has a short nap, is genuine and not perfunctory. Truly, even on the broadest of shoulders, the burden of caring for someone with ALZ can be overwheming.<\/p>\n

Your question, “What can I do to help,” asked one more time, can make all the difference in bolstering the spirits and strength of yet another, amazing caregiver!<\/p>\n

Blessings for the day,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I \u00a0mentioned in a previous post, I am going to focus \u00a0this Alzheimer’s disease Awareness and Education Month on the role and work of the caregiver. \u00a0These amazing men and women (and some younger people) are in the trenches daily, nightly, and they give of their hearts so much that they often don’t think…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[139,3,43,4],"tags":[140,88,142,796,797,798],"class_list":["post-908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alzheimers-disease","category-chronic-pain-and-illness","category-encouragement-in-life","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","tag-alzheimers-disease-2","tag-being-a-good-friend","tag-caregivers","tag-caring-for-someone-with-alzheimers","tag-giving-assistance","tag-helping-a-caregiver"],"yoast_head":"\nAlzheimer's disease caregivers: What not to assume - 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":909,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908\/revisions\/909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}