Diseases take a toll on more people than just the patient. For many families, watching the effects of a disease on their loved ones are very difficult to watch. Doctors often recommend families of patients with difficult or terminal diseased to take counseling. Counseling helps them understand the disease and helps them prepare for what lies ahead.
It also helps them cope with the many changes that their loved one will go through. There are some health problems that don’t have a cure yet. Such is the case of Parkinson’s disease. This disease affects a specific part of the brain and makes the patient have many involuntary movements that go from slight to severe. Parkinson’s starts out as something barely noticeable.
With time, the movements turn more noticeable and it can also cause stiffness in the limbs. Even though there is no cure for it yet, there are many therapy and medication options for patients that can improve their overall quality of life. My grandmother used to have Parkinson’s. She managed to live a long life with a better quality than other people because she had access to the right medications and doctors.
Another very common neurological problem is Alzheimer’s disease. This is a disorder known for affecting memory. It also starts small. People with this disorder often forget where they leave their keys if they had breakfast or not, as well as many other common things. Now, this doesn’t mean that if you’re experiencing this yourself, then you have Alzheimer’s. This condition has no known causes and has baffled doctors for many years.
Forgetting things can be a result of many things including stress. But for people with Alzheimer’s go from forgetting trivial things to very important things. It is not uncommon for people with Alzheimer’s to forget certain family members that they don’t see very often. At times, this even means the patient only remembering his or her caretaker. There are also many options in terms of therapy and medication for patients, that are effective treatment options to provide a decent quality of life.
The following video features an Alzheimer’s patient and his caretaker. The patient is the woman’s father. She’s been taking care of him for a long this and belongs to several support groups. They share stories and tips on how to better cope with the condition. One of the person’s in a blog asks her if her father is aware that he has the condition. She decides to ask him the question and record everything. The sweet man’s response in touching hearts and families all over the world.
