Posted on 04/15/2023 7:46:58 AM PDT by Twotone
I have similar thoughts about all the claims of medical breakthroughs. I am waiting for the “Balance of Nature” folks to make the claim that their product reverses the effects of old age. Wait! I think they already have! Soon the endless commercials will say, “Balance of Nature” is the new “Fountain of Youth!”
In all of this, it’s always about the money. These snake oil sales on TV have the same dynamics: It’s about the money and whatever benefit is placebo.
Yes my sister is under terrible stress taking care of him but we are all just heartbroken over it. Its hard to watch the guy who used to be your friend and tennis partner turn into a shell.
There’s only one drug right now and they also give it to Alzheimer’s patients. It only works for one year so they wait to start administering it until you’re pretty advanced after the one year you start declining pretty fast. My BIL’s one year was up last summer and he has declined significantly. I don’t know how much longer he has left. Maybe a year or two at most.
It is good news, if true. The problem will be now is that it will take a decade to make it through a real FDA-approval process. You know. The one that they DIDN’T do for the Covid ‘vaxxines.’
Yes, it’s heartbreaking to see a once intelligent, fun, vibrant person deteriorate like that before your eyes. And the grieving process starts long before we lose them to death. That’s why they call it “the long goodbye”.
People outside the main caregiver(s) tend to only see the loss/difference don’t see the old person is still in there somehow and miss those golden few moments when that person sort of peeks through the illness and are themselves, even if just for moments or minutes. Friends and family often stop visiting or even calling, leaving both the patient and the main caregiver isolated, which is devastating for both. I am so glad your sister and BIL have you.
Teepa Snow explains this and the stages in a most helpful way in her Gems video:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6UVjp_y8HY
She also has lots of tips and tricks for caregivers of dementia patients. I especially appreciated the one about getting the patient safely in and out of the car. And her explanation of how peripheral vision gradually shrinks and how to deal with that. Also lots of help with behavioral issues. All in a manner that is so compassionate toward both patient and caregiver. I learned so much from her and she was a Blessing to me in many ways.
Yes we now live 1 hour from my sister so we bought our new rural property much closer. Only 30 minutes.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.