Can I ask if depression was part of Gregorys realm early on when he understood what he was facing? Depression has been a huge barrier for A. He's on medication and we have a new psychotherapist and with the weather improving exercise will be a help. I'm just wondering if you have any other ideas on how to keep spirits lifted and positive.
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Gregory was somewhat lucky in that the Alzheimer's provided a barrier between the disease and his understanding of what was happening to him. Greg has always been a calm, easy going, relaxed, positive person so I think that helped. Friends would ask how things were going and Gregory would reply, "It has been going very well." I, on the other hand, knew that things were getting worse. Gregory just didn't see or know. At times he was aware of his losses but he knew he could trust me, I never made him feel "less than" or diminished and I always kept upbeat, optimistic, and hopeful in front of him. I learned how to cry myself to sleep without waking him. I also couldn't really discuss the changes with him because he was not aware of them and I did not want to burden him with my dealings. That is when I turned to the computer to process, get closure, write about what I was feeling. I would recommend more attention to DRUGS and making sure you get the best balance. They have helped Gregory at Lieberman when he became frustrated, angry, and resistive again. Getting the right balance was difficult, between drugged and sleepy and alert and present, but they are doing really well now. The staff keeps an eye on that with me. I worked very hard at trying to keep our life and our home as "normal" as possible and that meant changing, redefining, revising, and keeping on keeping on no matter how down I might have felt inside. We went out to eat, to the show, to the opera, hosted parties, socialized ... with me continuing to increase my role in helping him be successful in those situations. Hope my talking "around" the topic has helped.
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