We all miss the trash can now and then when our basketball skills get a little rusty. Or sometimes we're a bit lazy and don't feel like bending down to collect what has fallen behind or around the circular file, especially when nobody's looking.
Yes, I confess. I've done it.
However, someone with Alzheimer's may forget where the garbage can is … or only remember where it was kept years earlier as recent memory fades … or as the disease progresses, may not understand the purpose of the trash container. Caregivers or others may find some unexpected surprises. One wife notes:
Found a banana peel strewn under the sink … not where the garbage receptacle is kept. Oh, shoot, now there is something else I have to keep my eyes open for … garbage.
Where's your garbage can now? Is it in a different place than it was five or even 10 years ago? Where was it kept when the person with Alzheimer's was growing up? I don't, but a lot of people keep their can out of sight under the sink.
Alzheimer's steals the habits of our lives, the things we do automatically without thinking, and jumbles them. That's why caregivers often tell me how they find garbage or dirty dishes in the cabinets and the good and valuable stuff in the trash.
Now you know just one of the countless reasons why caregiving is a 24/7 job.
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