Alzheimer’s specialist helps his own grandfather cope with the disease

Bill Sortwell learned last year that he has Alzheimer’s disease, but he also discovered a close ally to help him slow the numbing progression of the disease.

Sortwell, 87, a Thompson resident, has had to adjust to memory lapses and other changes, with help from his wife, Pat, his son, Bob, and the rest of his large family. Alzheimer’s is a debilitating disease that distresses both sufferers and their loved ones. So Sortwell is particularly fortunate to have his grandson, Kris Sortwell, living nearby.

Kris, 41, works for the Alzheimer’s Association’s Connecticut chapter, where he oversees and trains volunteers and runs educational seminars on understanding the nerve deadening disease and watching for warning signs.

More than a year ago, Sortwell said he noticed his grandfather was forgetting little things and repeating himself.

“He would ask, ‘Have you gone fishing lately?’ and then ask the same thing a few minutes later,” Kris Sortwell said.

The lapses grew more frequent and people who knew Bill “Salty” Sortwell would see him wandering in a parking lot or store, looking confused, his grandson said.

Kris Sortwell had worked with people with brain injuries before coming to the Alzheimer’s Association in 2019, so he knew something about dementia and has learned more in his current role. When Bill Sortwell’s primary care physician diagnosed him with “a touch of dementia” and said, “We’ll see you in three months,” Sortwell said he knew his grandfather couldn’t wait that long.

He took him to a geriatrician, who spent nearly two hours with the elder Sortwell.

The disease may cause changes in mood, behavior or personality due to thinking and memory challenges, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Also, safety is a prime concern, especially prevention of falls and wandering, when people can’t retrace their steps and get lost.

“He took the time to just have a frank conversation with my grandfather,” Kris Sortwell said.

Bill Sortwell failed a memory test, and after a brain scan, he was diagnosed with vascular dementia and Alzheimer’s, his grandson said. When asked about his grandfather’s condition now, Kris Sortwell said, “Each day is a challenge.” Bill Sortwell can still remember sledding as a child, but can’t recall what he said or did five minutes before, his grandson said.

More changes will come as the disease progresses, Bill Sortwell acknowledged in a recent interview, but on a fair and sunny day with Father’s Day on Sunday, he said life was good. His family, he said, is always there for him and his wife.

“I can’t say enough about my grandchildren and my son,” the Webster, Mass native said. “They all watch over us.”

Sortwell is among about 80,000 people with Alzheimer’s in Connecticut and 6.5 million nationwide, numbers destined to grow as the baby boomer generation ages.

The disease is caused by damage to nerve cells in the brain, initially affecting memory, language and thinking, the Alzheimer’s Association explains in a fact sheet. As more of the brain is affected, the person needs more help with dressing and other daily tasks and to stay safe.

Bill Sortwell can’t drive anymore. One day, he said, he was driving down a road and forgot where he was, realizing later that he had traveled that same road many times before. His son, Bob Sortwell, of Killingly, said he made the decision to take away his father’s car. At first, his father agreed it was necessary to avoid hurting anyone in an accident, Bob Sortwell said.

“He said, ‘I don’t want that on my shoulders,’ but he doesn’t remember saying it at the time,” Bob Sortwell said.

Sometimes his dad gets resentful and angry about effects of the disease and how he is perceived, Sortwell said.

“He thinks people think he’s dumb or mentally ill,” he said of his father, a lifelong avid angler. “But I tell him, ‘Live for today — it doesn’t matter if you don’t remember it tomorrow if you’re enjoying fishing today.’”

The disease may cause changes in mood, behavior or personality due to thinking and memory challenges, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Also, safety is a prime concern, especially prevention of falls and wandering, when people can’t retrace their steps and get lost.

The disease has caused a lot of stress, Bob Sortwell said.

“Any time we get a phone call, you kind of cringe, thinking ‘What’s wrong now?’” he said.

Bill Sortwell has no trouble remembering the distant past. As a young father of five children in his native Webster, he worked five jobs at one time, including washing dishes at a restaurant, working at a shoe store, loading and unloading grain and other materials for another store and driving a taxi at night. Later, he worked for 30 years for a glass company. He also was a deacon at his church in Webster.

“My grandfather always has been the breadwinner,” Kris Sortwell said. “He was always socially active, always the caretaker, the leader of the family.”

“He was a rugged guy,” his son, Bob, said.

With the onset of Alzheimer’s, Bill Sortwell has become more sensitive to little disturbances like the flickering of a lightbulb, and his perception has changed, so careful communication and the ability to find out what’s bothering him is important, Kris Sortwell said.

“He doesn’t have the ability to self assess, so we need to assess and alter what we can,” Sortwell said.

Eventually, the nerve damage of Alzheimer’s disease affects bodily functions such as walking and swallowing. The disease ultimately is fatal. Studies indicate that people age 65 and older survive an average of four to eight years after a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s dementia, but some live as long as 20 years, according to the Alzheimer’s organization.

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis can hit a family “like a Mack truck,” Connecticut chapter spokesperson Kristen Cusato said, but help is available. Cusato knows — her own mother suffered from the disease and died about 10 years ago.

“People don’t have to go through this alone,” she said.

The Alzheimer’s Association in Connecticut offers free services for families and people with the disease, including support groups, educational seminars, consultations and referrals to other services.

On a recent day, Bill Sortwell said he was reading under a shade tree with his dog, Buddy. The Thompson library is a short walk from his apartment, Sortwell said, so he always has access to a new book.

“I’ve lived my life, you know,” Sortwell said, “and I have my family in back of me.”

Contributed photo Bill Sortwell, left, has receive support from his family, including his grandson, Kris Sortwell, who is an Alzheimer's specialist, as he copes with dementia.