Sally has Alzheimer’s.
My name is Fred. My wife Sally has always been the organizer; she runs the house, pays the bills and plans our vacations. Over the past year, she has become quite muddled, not herself at all. The doctors have told us she has Alzheimer’s disease. We are both quite frightened about what lies ahead but will handle Sally’s diagnosis as a team. After 60 years of marriage, I am determined not to rob her of the decisions that she can still make and our ability to talk things through, as we always have.
Sally and Fred need an occupational therapist.
ALZHEIMER’S is a fatal, progressive and degenerative disease that destroys brain cells. It is the most common form of dementia, accounting for 64 per cent of all dementias in Canada. Symptoms include difficulty remembering things, making decisions and performing everyday activities. These changes can affect the way a person feels and acts. While there is currently no cure for the disease, there are more than 500,000 Canadians living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia, and 72% of them are women.
The occupational therapist helped Sally and Fred to:
Figure out what household jobs need doing and how they can best do them together, safely.
Make sure that they each take time for their own interests and can make decisions independent of each other.
Put together a schedule of their important everyday activities, using visual queues that help Sally remember and feel more in control of what’s next.
Plan ahead for changes they will need to make in the future.
Because of occupational therapy, Sally and I can continue to live at home together.
The Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists (CAOT) provides a searchable national directory of occupational therapists for all Canadians to find the occupational therapy services they need.
Occupational therapy. Making the everyday possible.