K.C.s Report

If you have been following this blog you know that we have two college student companions spending time with Gregory when I have "stuff to do," meetings to attend, or just need time to get away from the 24/7 of Alzheimer's to play. Each companion spends 4 to 8 hours with Gregory per week.


I asked each of the companions to write about the time they have spent with Gregory up to now. I wasn't sure what I expected or wanted them to write about but I was hoping for a perspective through their eyes of the time they spend with Gregory.

K.C. is a graduate student at Northwestern University studying Clinical Psychology. This is reproduced with his permission. B.P.'s report was posted a few days ago.

My Time With Greg

                                                                              KC August 12, 2012

Our time together

During our time together, we always have a great time and we both enjoy each other’s company.  We go for walks, have lunch, run errands, read, take naps, watch movies, and the list goes on.  I look forward to seeing him every time, and I get the feeling that he does as well.  Although he struggles from Alzheimer’s, there is a lot to learn from Greg as a person.  He is a great person and has made me realize many important things in life, and I thank him for that.

I think the relation we have now is different from what it was at the beginning.  He now feels comfortable being around me and also asks me favors more often than before.  I am not saying he has become dependent, but not hesitating to ask me is a good sign of our good relationship.      

Things Greg has trouble with (not always, but most of the time)

·      Figuring out where to hook his water bottle when we go out, or how to drink it after it’s already hooked on (he usually takes the cap off first, while the bottle is still hooked on).

       Figuring out how to hook his cell phone, or occasionally answering it (he would give me the phone to answer)

·      Figuring out which switch is responsible for the lights

·      Getting dressed or undressed

·      Figuring which keys to use (not for the house door, but other doors in the building).

·      Remembering or saying names

·      Conversation in general

·      Remembering certain things such as bringing his cap when we go for walks, buying milk, etc.

·      Sense of time

My Observation (What I’ve noticed)

I am not an expert so I do not want to make speculations, but there are some things I’ve noticed about Greg.  I’ve randomly written down things that I’ve thought about from the time I first met him. 

1.  I think he remembers quite a bit of what we’ve done in the past.  He might not be able to tell you the specifics using his words, but I believe he remembers the event.  The reason why I say this is because he sometimes will tell me something about what we've done or episodes from our time together.  Another reason is that he seems to be able to recall quite a bit when I tell him about what we’ve done in the past.  In other words, if I guide through him, he will know what I’m talking about.  

2.  It seems like events that involve some type of emotions are remembered more than events that aren’t.  Perhaps memory that is connected to emotion means more to him and thus better remembered.  Again, he might not be able to explain details using his words, but he knows how he felt or knows that the event occurred.  For example, although he might not be able to explain what we did that day, I think he knows that we had fun (that’s what counts!).

3.  Putting him on the spot does not help him retrieve what he is trying to say.  What I mean by this is that when he feels some pressure to say things correctly, I think it just makes it worse.  I have realized that asking him questions is not always a good way to communicate because he tries to say it right, but fails.  For instance, if I ask him “what’s the book about?” he might not be able to explain it because it is a question that requires explanation.  However, if I ask him “do you like the book you’re reading now?” he would either say “yes” or “no”, and then he might be able to explain about it better because I didn't ask what the book was about.

  

4.  I think that a lot of the time his memories are available, but not accessible.  What I mean by this is that it is probably somewhere in his mind, but he has trouble accessing the specific information that is needed at the moment.   

5.  When we go for walks or go to certain places, there is always a certain way he wants to take me.  He usually refers to “this way” or “ that way” and we always go the same way.  Sometimes he gets confused and stops to think, but he has a good sense of direction and will always take me to the destination.

6.  Sometimes, he makes things more complicated than it needs to be.  Perhaps his knowledge interferes from what the task is at the moment.  For instance, when he was in the process of changing his clothes, he had trouble with putting on his belt.  He had his belt on his waist, but it was over his long sleeve shirt, and he had no pants on.  He probably knows that the belt has to go on his waist, but he got confused where and how to put it on.

7.  Sometimes when he cannot say what he wants, he seems to get frustrated with himself.  He will say “never mind” and that will be the end of that.  It is important to note that even though he gets frustrated for a second, it doesn't affect his mood.    

8.  Along with his memory, there seems to be something going on with him not being able to focus quickly on the object that is the target.  What I mean is that he has trouble figuring out what I am pointing at or what I am talking about.  For example, he gets confused when I tell him how to hook the water on his pants.  He seems to have trouble figuring out the “what” “where” and “how” and what the task is.

9.  He seems to understand that he is struggling from Alzheimer’s disease.  He would not be able to say he has Alzheimer’s, but he knows he has difficulties in doing things and that things have changed over the years.  For example, he told me he was able to read and write fine in the past, but one day it became too difficult or confusing to write.  Or, he would say he could play the piano, but one day it did not make sense to him, and was no longer able to play.

10.Another thing I noticed is that he thanks me a lot when he thinks I helped him out.  He would usually say “thanks for doing that” and will even thank me several times.

11.His use of language might be the thing he suffers from the most.  He cannot retrieve the words he would like to use, and thus makes conversation a challenge.  He sometimes uses different words that sound similar or sometimes words that are totally different from the words he is trying to say.  For instance, he said “books” when he was trying to say “boats”.  He said “is dad coming?” when he probably meant to say “is Michael coming?”.  He experiences a lot of tip of the tongue moments, and has difficulty getting words out of his mouth even he knows what he is trying to say.

12.Sometimes when I see him in the morning, he seems to be still in his sleeping mode.  He might be a bit slower in thinking or doing things, but will gradually wake up as time passes. 

Like I said, I am not an expert so I don't want to make any judgments or assumptions.  Having said this, I don't think there has been any noticeable changes from the first time I met Greg to now.  In other words, I don't think it is fair to say his symptoms are getting worse.  I wouldn't say he has good days and bad days, but there are certainly some things that he is capable of doing depending on the day, which makes it harder to evaluate.  He can do certain things today, that he had trouble doing the first time we met, and vice versa.