~because I've been there
I started caregiving for my husband, Maj. Larry S. Potter, Ret. USAF, in the fall of 1999 after an emergency triple bypass surgery in Boston. He never did return to his pre-op physical and mental state. One problem he had was falling down every time he had to go up a set of stairs or a ladder. Another problem, unrelated to the first one, is forgetfulness such as picking up the mail at the post office or coming home to lunch from the university.
In January 2003 he came home from teaching his classes, in tears, and told me he was having a lot of difficulty remembering words in class and his teaching material. I invited him to come with me and see our family doctor who diagnosed him with Alzheimer’s during the office visit on January 31, 2003. I continued to care for him until May 18, 2009 when he was admitted into long-term care once he no longer could walk unassisted.
After 10 years of caregiving I was physically and emotionally exhausted. I was ready to share his caregiving with a larger team of professionals such as in a nursing center. Creating Remembering 4 You, where caregivers can come to share their experiences and also get support, guidance in doing even a better job as caregivers, has been my goal based on my own experiences as a family caregiver. The lack of training, coaching and support made a serious impression on me. Making the environment safe and clean was about all that I knew when I started to provide caregiving to my husband with Alzheimer’s. There is so much more to promoting the best quality of life possible for persons with Alzheimer’s.
This website is dedicated to all those caregivers and long-term care facilities, including hospitals, who provide care for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia such as Lewy bodies, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s disease. Caregivers can meet and retreat here. Here you can share personal stories, take a TeleClass, sign up for one-on-one coaching with a Professional Alzheimer’s Coach, take a series of training workshops, and receive consultations on issues of management and supervision of individuals with Alzheimer’s.
