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Julie Staple was a child when her father, Mark Womack, began to show strange behavior. An award-winning producer of violins, violas and cellos, Womack did not respond to customers and did not return telephone calls as soon as possible. He watched more television and took more breaks at work. He started drinking and quickly became angry.
The behavior lasted for years and had adverse consequences. Staple and her mother, professional violinist Ginny Womack, thought Mark Womack was depressed.
His parents divorced. Mark Womack was fired from two jobs in instrument manufacturing in Nebraska and Texas. There were other disturbing events. A body shop would not repair his car because he could not remember information about insurance. The two-hour trip to his parents' home normally lasted five hours. And then his boss called the family: Mark Womack was crying and did not know how to make a violin. The boss took him to a clinic.
At the age of 53, Mark Womack was diagnosed early with Alzheimer's in September 2015. An assessment done a few months ago instead revealed a diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia or FTD.
Ginny Womack became her guardian.
"If my mother had known, she would never have divorced her and would have been her guardian from the start," said Staple, of Deerfield, in Illinois.
FTD is often misdiagnosed as a psychiatric disorder or Alzheimer's disease. It affects the region of the brain usually associated with personality, behavior and language and is often diagnosed in people aged 40 to 45 years.
In the United States, about 5.8 million people are living with Alzheimer's disease and dementia, said Heather Snyder, senior director of medical and scientific operations at the Alzheimer's Association. That number is expected to reach 14 million by 2050. About 16 million people are caregivers.
Halima Amjad, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said that about 60% of people with dementia symptoms are unreported, whether for reasons of denial or shame.
So what should family members look for? What is attributable to normal aging as opposed to cognitive decline associated with dementia?
It is common to lose keys or glasses or walk into a room with a task in mind and forget what it is. These are often attributed to multitasking or stress and are considered part of normal aging.
"It's one thing to find your glasses on your head, it's another thing to find them in the freezer," said Lisa Rindner, social worker at Iona Senior Services in Washington, who works with families facing the challenges of aging, Alzheimer's disease and dementia. .
Rindner advises families to seek advice even if their concerns are not extreme.
"I'm very grateful when people come for a consultation and it's not a critical point," said Rindner. "Learn and explore the options before you need them so you do not get lost when you need help. We make better choices when we are not in crisis.
Nancy Berg, of Vernon Hills, Ill., Said there were warning signs of Alzheimer's disease long before her father, Bert Rose, was diagnosed. For more than 60 years, Rose has played piano with the Bert Rose Orchestra and has been produced at events and weddings, including the weddings of Sharon Percy and Jay Rockefeller. He has accompanied celebrities such as Ann-Margret, Debbie Reynolds and Brooke Shields.
Widowed in 1984, Rose was used to leading an independent life. He was still working in his 80s when his daughter noticed small signs: word recovery problems and recurrent stories. Then Rose began to get lost from Berg's house, a road he had traveled several times. Always keen with his appearance, he started wearing sweaters in hot weather. In restaurants, he asked his family what he liked to eat. And about a year before his diagnosis, he had trouble filling out a bank deposit slip, including neither the date nor the method of entry. The scariest case, Berg said, is when his father laughed that he had started his car without opening the garage door first.
"I would have liked to know the signs to look for. We could have him leave his home earlier to find out that he was safe, "Berg said.
Rose died about 18 months ago. Although much of his memory was gone, he continued to play the piano for the residents of the nursing home where he lived until the end of his life, Berg said.
Families with elderly parents need to know their baseline and standard, Rindner said. Be careful when a loved one can not remember a conversation, miss an appointment, do not pay his bills, his phone is off or his TV does not work.
"People have a remarkable way to mask the decline," said Rindner. "It may take a while to see the red flags."
Here are some things to look for:
• Notes with reminders on simple tasks.
• When neighbors or friends share concerns.
• Invoices not paid or overpaid.
• Physical Appearance – an always assembled person suddenly wears creased or dirty clothes.
• weight changes.
• Driving problems: clashes, parking in the wrong place.
• Any unusual behavior.
• Pick up an object and use it inappropriately.
• Say inappropriate things – "no filter".
• Changes of speech, personality.
Rachael Wonderlin, owner of Dementia by Day and a specialist in dementia, encourages families to get involved early.
"If you think something is wrong, talk about it," said Wonderlin. "It's worse to ignore it. I have seen families wait too long to remove the keys from the car. People wait a long time because they are afraid and repel it. "
Wonderlin said take note of what she calls "well, it was a strange moment". For example, Wonderlin evaluated a woman and saw no deficit – until the woman asked her if she could make a phone call and take the television. distant.
At 60, it's normal for people not to remember everything, "but if your memory was impeccable and suddenly you do not remember one thing – you've slept enough, you're eating well, you're exercising and you're hydrating – that's a concern, says Wonderlin.
In addition, Wonderlin said that older partners tend to finish their thoughts, which may mask the problem.
"I met a couple and the woman has dementia," said Wonderlin. "I needed her husband to not talk. He answered questions because he loved her and wanted her not to be confused. So he does chores and finishes sentences. This prevented family members from realizing that there was a problem. "
And move the family members to an assisted life before there is a crisis, said Wonderlin. People are more open when they realize that it is necessary.
"Do not be fooled by" everything is fine until now ", it will not stay well," she said.
Read more
Changing the "story of the tragedy": Why does a growing camp encourage a more joyful approach to Alzheimer's disease?
Learn to live well with dementia
Strong shot, foot pain and flashes of light – my eight minutes as a patient with dementia
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