As a patient advocate, I have worked with a number of clients living with Alzheimer’s and their family caregivers. There are different types and different havocs Alzheimer’s reeks on the body.

I have had the opportunity to work with a man (and his family) who had Lewy Body dementia, a form of Alzheimer’s that may cause the person to become  agitated  and violent, fluctuation in cognition, and sleep disorders. I worked with a woman who would leave her house and could not find her way back, and a woman who declined to the point she ended up bedridden and ultimately passed away.Alzheimer’s disease takes a toll on the family – both emotionally, physically and financially.

Most care for Alzheimer’s is paid for by the family, or when they run out of money, by Medicaid. Medicare pays for very little in respect to Alzheimer’s care. According to the Alzheimer’s Association,” Medicare and Medicaid in 2015 will have spent 153 billion dollars and by the year 2050, 765 billion dollars.”Currently, there’s no cure or treatment for Alzheimer’s.The Alzheimer’s Association is asking that everyone become an advocate to encourage the government to spend 2 billion dollars a year on research for Alzheimer’s,” so that by 2025, we develop a treatment for delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s by 5 years. Then 5.7 million people who would have developed Alzheimer’s by 2050 would not, families would save 87 billion dollars by 2050 and finally, in total, America would save 367 billion dollars!”We must find a treatment or cure for Alzheimer’s.

I became an advocate for Alzheimer’s. I hope you will to. Here’s how! Go to the Alzheimer’s Association’s website and complete the simple application.

Help to find a treatment for this terrible debilitating disease.