Caring for patients with Alzheimer’s makes way for new memories

Elizabeth Padilla and her mother, Petra, share many of the same qualities. Both are vibrant, chatty and independent. But Elizabeth began to notice that her mother was being robbed of the traits they once shared.

The culprit was Alzheimer’s disease.

Although Petra was in her early 70s, the initial signs were not part of normal aging. “She put things away and wouldn’t be able to find them. She stopped going out of the house unless I was there. She even walked into moving traffic without hesitation once when we were out,” Elizabeth recalls. “At the time, I didn’t want to face that this could be the early stages of Alzheimer’s, but it was time she get evaluated.”

Coming to grips

In November 2008, Petra’s neurobehavioral evaluation at the Yarmon Neurobehavior and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Beth Israel Medical Center revealed Alzheimer’s disease.

“My family had to realize that she would continue to forget things and wouldn’t be able to function safely on her own,” Elizabeth says. Petra’s denial was equally difficult. “For that first year, she would tell me ‘I’m entitled to forget things; I’m old,’” Elizabeth recalls. “Around that same time, my father passed away and depression set in for my mother.”

Slowing the progression

Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia that affects the brain, slowly destroying thinking skills, memory, and, eventually, the ability to carry out even simple tasks. For Petra, things like cooking or simply going outside had become difficult. Not everyone who develops Alzheimer’s disease will have the same symptoms. It may progress faster in some people, but generally takes many years to fully develop.

Petra’s physician, Dr. Todd Feinberg, recommended medication and group therapy with clinical psychologist Hulya Erhan, PhD to slow the progression of the disease and improve her quality of life. Both treatments are used to help maintain thinking, memory and communication skills.

“Support groups are effective for people like Petra, who are socially withdrawn and feeling depressed or anxious,” Dr. Erhan says. “It gives people a chance to talk about what it’s like to have a change in function, to lose autonomy in their lives. They can get positive feedback about how they deal with it. Petra has been instrumental in getting people to laugh and bringing humor to the group.”

Therapy doesn’t end when Petra is at home. “I try to keep her thinking and moving. She likes seek-and-find books and I’ll help her cook. We also make sure she gets outside for a walk at least once a day with her attendant. I think it helps keep her from feeling depressed,” Elizabeth says.

Accepting role reversal

Although Petra is the one with Alzheimer’s, her entire family is dealing with the symptoms. “One of the struggles with this disease is when the child is suddenly the one providing for the parent,” Dr. Erhan says. “Our center helps reduce that burden by consulting the whole family, not just the patient.”

It’s a gesture Elizabeth fully appreciates. “Dr. Erhan is my mother’s doctor, but she takes the time to ask me how I’m doing,” she says. “She knows if the caregiver is well, the patient will also be well. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can handle this alone. Find people who will stand in your corner and encourage you through the highs and lows.”