waltzing with alzheimer’s: caring when your partner is out of step

This is one of many stories that could be written about the heartache of Alzheimer’s Disease. It is told by a life partner who journeyed through the stages of caregiving from not understanding what was happening to the point of extreme grief. You will find that caregiving and dementia have a tenuous relationship; that most logical and productive suggestions fail to succeed; that Alzheimer’s care resembles all too often the upside-down world of Alice in Wonderland.

But this is also a story of hope. Understanding and nurturing a patient’s sensory essence is the key to developing trust with caregivers. It is also the single most successful technique for inspiring happiness and contentment in someone who suffers so much loss with AD. The author describes his own irregular path towards that awareness and ends with an appeal to the Alzheimer’s Association to develop a professional training program that will teach family members and prospective caregivers how to interact with those who are losing rational and logical skills.