Many potential safety issues exist with Alzheimer’s disease

Driving, taking medications and wandering are just three of the safety issues that may arise after an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. We offer programs and systems that can help people with the disease remain independent and active in the community, and provide family and friends with peace of mind.

If You Live Alone

Many people with Alzheimer’s continue to live successfully on their own during the early stage of the disease. Making simple adjustments, taking safety precautions and having the support of others can make things easier.

• Legal and financial planning
• Safety

Legal and financial planning

If you live alone, it’s crucial to make legal and financial plans now while you can participate in making decisions to ensure that others know your wishes, and know what to do.
> Learn more about planning ahead

Safetyback to top

There are several safety issues to consider that may help you maintain your independence for as long as possible.

If friends or family have expressed concern about your ability to perform certain roles or tasks, listen to their observations. Alzheimer’s will eventually limit your own insights as to what you can safely do.

Self-care
Changes in thinking may reduce your ability to make appropriate decisions about self-care and your day-to-day needs as the disease progresses. You may be at increased risk for harm, falls, wandering and/or malnutrition. You also may have difficulty managing personal hygiene or household tasks, which can lead to unsafe living conditions. Plan ahead for how you will address your basic needs, including housing, meals and physical care. Consider Meals on Wheels, homemaker services, or services to help with managing medications or bill paying.

Tips:

• Arrange for someone to help you with housekeeping, meals, transportation and daily chores. Find services by contacting your local chapter or use our online tool,Community Resource Finder.
• Make arrangements for direct deposit of checks, such as your retirement pension or Social Security benefits.
• Make arrangements for help in paying bills. You can give a trusted individual the legal authority to handle money matters or speak with your bank or service provider about automatic bill pay.
• Establish a system for medication reminders.

Falls
You may experience changes in your balance that lead to an increased risk of falling. Changes in your sensitivity to light, the contrast between colors, or depth perception may affect your balance and comfort with navigating.
> Take the safety survey to receive a customized home safety checklist

Driving
At some point, everyone with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s will no longer be able to drive. Planning ahead before driving becomes an issue can help you answer the question “How will I get from place to place when I can no longer drive?” Putting a plan in place can be empowering and provides the opportunity to make choices that can help maintain your independence for as long as possible.
> Dementia and Driving Resource Center

TIPS FROM PEOPLE WITH ALZHEIMER’S

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Preparing to stop driving

1. I sit in the front seat as a way to get used to being a passenger rather than the driver.
2. My care partner and I have discussed the circumstances and made a plan for when I will stop driving.
3. I take other forms of transportation or have care partner/friends drive me.

> See more tips

Wandering
Everyone with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is at risk for wandering. Increased confusion and agitation can cause people with the disease to wander and get lost. Wandering can be very dangerous, and if you live alone, there is no one to monitor for changes that may increase your risk.
> MedicAlert^® + Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return^® and Comfort Zone^® are two safety systems to consider.

Isolation and loneliness
It is common to feel isolated or withdrawn from others after receiving your diagnosis or as the disease progresses. Establish a routine with friends and family that encourages you to stay connected with them. Also take advantage of programs and services that involve you with others living in the early stage of Alzheimer’s.

Tips:

• Have family, friends or a community service program call or visit you daily.
• Keep a list of questions and concerns to discuss with them. Include items for them to check out around the house, such as electrical appliances, mail and food.

Asking for help

It can be difficult to know when to ask for help or to admit that help is needed. You may feel that by asking others for help, you will become too dependent on others. Have a conversation with family and friends about the daily tasks that have become more difficult for you to complete. Be specific about what they can do to help you.
> Learn how to build a care team

Health care services
Individuals who live alone are more reliant on their own perceptions of when they need care. As a result, they are less likely to use health care services and are at a greater risk for nursing home placement than those who live with a care partner. There are services that can help you assess your health and care needs, and programs that can help you meet those needs when necessary. Learn about what health care services are available in your community such visiting nurses, private duty caregivers, physical therapy or assistance with medical devices. All of these services can help you optimize your health while living safely at home.
> Find health care services using our Community Resource Finder or contact your local chapter

In-home support services
Common unmet needs for individuals living alone include help with chores and self-care, such as bathing and meals. Investigate the options for in-home support services, including paid or volunteer caregivers, companionship care, housekeeping services or Meals on Wheels.

Tips:

• Plan for home-delivered meals if they are available in your community such as Meals on Wheels.
• Arrange to have your local grocery store deliver your groceries.
• Leave a set of house keys with a neighbor you trust.
• Make arrangements for someone to regularly check your smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector.

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Turning loss from early-onset Alzheimer’s into action

With a young daughter, a busy career involving substantial travel and a working husband, Jan Tratnik didn’t believe that she had the bandwidth to also become the primary caretaker of her mother who developed early-onset Alzheimer’s. Nor did Tratnik anticipate that her vibrant, independent mother living in another state with an active social life would ever leave her home and let herself become dependent on another. But that is exactly what happened.

With a young daughter, a busy career involving substantial travel and a working husband, Jan Tratnik didn’t believe that she had the bandwidth to also become the primary caretaker of her mother who developed early-onset Alzheimer’s. Nor did Tratnik anticipate that her vibrant, independent mother living in another state with an active social life would ever leave her home and let herself become dependent on another. But that is exactly what happened. For the last seven years of her mother’s life, Tratnik focused great attention and energy on caring for her mother during her relentless descent into “living death and unenviable demise.”

The real surprise, though, turned out to be how much Tratnik enjoyed and benefited from this caretaking journey. That her mother didn’t even recognize Tratnik during the last five years didn’t stop Tratnik from enjoying their outings to places like the Chicago Botanic Garden, continuously declaring her love and promising to be her mother’s memory.

“I never thought I would give of myself to that extent,” Tratnik explains. “But a large chunk of my life became caregiving and feeling a higher purpose. This took our relationship to a deeper level. It got better.”

The disease also had a profound impact on Tratnik’s daughter. “Kamryn was madly in love with my mother, as is common between grandchild and grandparent,” she says. “When she was about 10, the decline became noticeable, though.”

“Kamryn was devastated when her grandmother looked at her and asked, ‘Who is this girl?’” Though Kamryn was stoic at home, her teacher reported profound sadness at school. That her daughter couldn’t share her hurt and anger with her saddened Tratnik.

Turning to the Alzheimer’s Association

When the disease finally took her mother’s life, Tratnik felt a great void. Soon afterward, she attended anAlzheimer’s Association gala as a corporate social responsibility representative through her employer at the time. Tratnik found herself at a table surrounded by others recovering from similar experiences, and it felt good.

Most caretakers are too busy while their loved one is alive to seek help from Alzheimer’s Association. Instead, they find their way to the organization after the Alzheimer’s sufferer dies. Like others at her table that night, Tratnik eventually became deeply involved in the organization — fighting to raise awareness, provide support for families suffering through the ravages of this vicious disease, and, ultimately, find a cure — all in honor of her mother.

Tratnik eventually joined the Alzheimer’s Association board. This, too, became a bonding experience, as 90 percent of the board members have lost a family member to the disease. “We care for each other,” she proudly declares. She may now be the board’s primary caretaker, too, as she is currently its chair.

In loving memory of her grandmother, Kamryn started volunteering with Alzheimer’s Association as well, and hopes to serve at a senior living facility near her college, Washington & Lee.

Alzheimer’s By the Numbers

While much is still unknown about this insidious disease, 2014’s “Still Alice” (which earned Julianne Moorean Academy Award for her role as Alice Howland, the title character affected by early-onset Alzheimer’s) raised substantial awareness.

“Alzheimer’s is what cancer was 30 years ago,” Tratnik says. “When there was such a stigma that it was only called ‘the c word,’ but that’s changing as awareness and understanding grows. ” The Alzheimer’s Association is on a mission to grow this awareness and understanding, as well as raise money to expedite finding a cure and help families already hit by the disease.

For some unknown reason, women are hit harder than men. Almost two-thirds of American Alzheimer’s patients are women. Women are also predominantly the primary caregivers for Alzheimer’s patients. As our population lives longer, the number of us affected by Alzheimer’s will continue to grow.

“One thing is known,” Tratnik says, “the disease can be inherited.” This provides another compelling reason for Tratnik and her daughter to make as great an impact now as they can.

How You Can Help

You can help fight Alzheimer’s by supporting the Alzheimer’s Association through its popular walks throughout the state during the summer or by attending one of the three local Reason to Hope luncheons in April. CBS 2 Chicago’s Irika Sargent is the emcee of the North Shore luncheon.

Make It Better is proud to be a media sponsor of several of these events.

More from Make It Better:

• Post-Traumatic Growth: Emerging Stronger After Stress
• Sneak More Vegetables Into Your Diet With These 5 Recipes
• ‘Daring Greatly’ Author Brené Brown’s Advice on Living Courageously

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Win the chance to perform with Joey McIntyre at “A Night at Sardi’s”

The 24th and final Alzheimer’s Association “A Night at Sardi’s” fundraising event will take place March 9, and you could win a walk-on role in Joey McIntyre’s Sardi’s performance. Sign up for a chance to win this or other amazing prizes, like a video chat with McIntyre or a social media shoutout.

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Make sure the politicians in Springfield do not forget Alzheimer’s disease

With Illinois’ government locked in a standoff, we need you to join us at the 2016 Illinois Action Summit and to bring your friends, neighbors and family members who are also committed to making our state a better place. The 210,000-plus Illinoisans living with Alzheimer’s disease need a voice to make sure that they are not forgotten by politicians in Springfield.

With Illinois’ government locked in a standoff, we need you to join us at the 2016 Illinois Action Summit and to bring your friends, neighbors and family members who are also committed to making our state a better place. The 210,000-plus Illinoisans living with Alzheimer’s disease need a voice to make sure that they are not forgotten by politicians in Springfield.
2015 was an amazing year during which we all saw our hard work as advocates pay off. The Illinois General Assembly unanimously passed Silver Search, Alzheimer’s Association®-backed legislation that will create a comprehensive coordination, awareness and search program for missing adults suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia. And just before the holidays, a bipartisan agreement in Washington D.C. increased the National Institutes of Health’s budget for Alzheimer’s research by $350 million!

Despite this incredible progress, so much remains to be done.

Please join us in Springfield on Thursday April, 14 and help strengthen our push to protect critical services for people and families facing Alzheimer’s. Transportation from several locations throughout the state, training and lunch will be provided.

With your voice, our call will be impossible to ignore.

Thank you again for your commitment and dedication to a world without Alzheimer’s®! If you would like to sign up by phone, or have any questions regarding the 2016 Illinois Action Summit, please feel free to contact Jen Belkov at 847.779.6957.

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Head injuries may play a role in the development of Alzheimer’s-type brain lesions

Previous research has suggested that traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be a major risk factor for dementia. A newly published study suggests that TBI may lead to a buildup of Alzheimer’s disease-type lesions in the brain, including in regions not typically affected by such damage. In this small, preliminary study, researchers found that moderate to severe head injuries led to an accumulation of amyloid plaques in nine middle-aged study participants over months or years.

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