It's the Alzheimer's, stupid! #3

Where was I … oh, yeah, more "It's the Alzheimer's, stupid!"

What else angers caregivers?

Being told by clueless people that there's nothing wrong with their loved one because he looks "fine." That basically translates into: "The problem must be with YOU."

Well, world, I'm going to announce something that will shock you! Ready? Most folks with Alzheimer's look "fine." It's what we cannot see that is the problem.

You may see two healthy "seasoned" people getting out of their car in the handicapped parking space. They have the disabled plate or tag hanging off the rearview mirror. You watch them enter the store and think, "How dare they! There's nothing wrong with them! They're faking it!"

Well, many a caregiver has shared with me the "time bomb" that could go off without much notice in their loved one with Alzheimer's. They may have to end their shopping quickly at times for a variety of reasons, because their loved one may:

• Become agitated and/or uncomfortable by too many people or too much noise in the store.
• Wander away and get lost, even one aisle away.
• Start opening packages because their brains don't comprehend anymore that something doesn't belong to them until it's been paid for.
• Need to go to the bathroom but don't understand how to get into a stall by themselves. And it's OK for moms or dads to bring into their respective restrooms a young child of the opposite sex, but society has not gotten too keen yet on a husband needing to take his wife into a public restroom.

Yes, it's the Alzheimer's, stupid.