I feel the need to write a summary of the last few months as a tribute to this forum (I am from Italy and I believe many other countries like mine are in need of something like this).
The only topic I posted here was about my dad's illness, covering the period from the beginning of 2023 to a few days ago. Unfortunately, I intended to provide more frequent updates, but I haven't always been in the right mindset for that. Nevertheless, I have always been a long-time "lurker" here, and I want to express my gratitude to everyone who posts here daily, offering support, advice, encouragement, and more to us caregivers.
I am currently 22 years old, and I am the son of an Alzheimer's disease patient who was diagnosed at the beginning of 2020 in Italy. My country has a great healthcare system from a "theoretical" point of view, offering free care for everyone, including hospitalizations and everyday medical examinations (similar to the system in the UK). However, in practice, the last few years have been very tough due to incorrect political and economic policies that are currently dismantling this system. These policies have affected my family as well, and in recent months, we had to take care of my father entirely at home because it became impossible for him to access any long-term facilities or nursing homes. Fortunately, we were able to benefit from nursing services at home, which provided great quality care and were staffed by very special people!
When I read this forum, I always come across this question: how long will it last? My father's journey has finally come to an end, and I can provide the exact answer regarding his case. However, in general, nobody can give you the real answer. Despite numerous clinical scales of severity, prognostic factors, calculators, and more, nobody can provide the exact number.
I began asking myself that question at the beginning of this year when my father's disease took a sharp decline and accelerated (you can read about it in my last topic on this forum). That marked the start of the "physical" care for us, as he couldn't speak or understand anything from me or my mom. He lost the ability to walk and control his sphincters, among other things. About a month ago, he completely lost the ability to swallow, and he was clinically defined as "terminal," so we were fortunate to have him transferred to hospice care (where we also encountered very special and caring people). He went on without eating or drinking for over a month, and then he quietly stopped breathing (during this time, he received some IV saline solution, glucose, and morphine).
My advice for everyone who asks themselves that terrible question is: stop thinking about it. I know you probably won't (I only stopped doing so when my father entered hospice care), but try as much as you can. Get distracted when you don't have to take care of your loved one. Alzheimer's disease and dementias are illnesses that primarily affect caregivers (and later, your loved one). I know it's a strong statement, but my last years as a teenager-young adult with a sick father led me to this conclusion.
Good luck everyone.
The only topic I posted here was about my dad's illness, covering the period from the beginning of 2023 to a few days ago. Unfortunately, I intended to provide more frequent updates, but I haven't always been in the right mindset for that. Nevertheless, I have always been a long-time "lurker" here, and I want to express my gratitude to everyone who posts here daily, offering support, advice, encouragement, and more to us caregivers.
I am currently 22 years old, and I am the son of an Alzheimer's disease patient who was diagnosed at the beginning of 2020 in Italy. My country has a great healthcare system from a "theoretical" point of view, offering free care for everyone, including hospitalizations and everyday medical examinations (similar to the system in the UK). However, in practice, the last few years have been very tough due to incorrect political and economic policies that are currently dismantling this system. These policies have affected my family as well, and in recent months, we had to take care of my father entirely at home because it became impossible for him to access any long-term facilities or nursing homes. Fortunately, we were able to benefit from nursing services at home, which provided great quality care and were staffed by very special people!
When I read this forum, I always come across this question: how long will it last? My father's journey has finally come to an end, and I can provide the exact answer regarding his case. However, in general, nobody can give you the real answer. Despite numerous clinical scales of severity, prognostic factors, calculators, and more, nobody can provide the exact number.
I began asking myself that question at the beginning of this year when my father's disease took a sharp decline and accelerated (you can read about it in my last topic on this forum). That marked the start of the "physical" care for us, as he couldn't speak or understand anything from me or my mom. He lost the ability to walk and control his sphincters, among other things. About a month ago, he completely lost the ability to swallow, and he was clinically defined as "terminal," so we were fortunate to have him transferred to hospice care (where we also encountered very special and caring people). He went on without eating or drinking for over a month, and then he quietly stopped breathing (during this time, he received some IV saline solution, glucose, and morphine).
My advice for everyone who asks themselves that terrible question is: stop thinking about it. I know you probably won't (I only stopped doing so when my father entered hospice care), but try as much as you can. Get distracted when you don't have to take care of your loved one. Alzheimer's disease and dementias are illnesses that primarily affect caregivers (and later, your loved one). I know it's a strong statement, but my last years as a teenager-young adult with a sick father led me to this conclusion.
Good luck everyone.
