‘It’s a big concern for everyone’
Alzheimer’s disease a constant worry for Cape Breton family
When Donna Morgan’s mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease about 30 years ago, the family didn’t really know what it was.
“There’s wasn’t the awareness on Alzheimer’s out there that there is today,” said Morgan, adding her mother, Collette Murphy, was 64 at the time.
“I had no idea what it was or what it was caused from. When she came home from the doctors and told us, I know I had to look it up to see what it was. I then made an appointment with my doctor so I could find out more about it.”
Since that time, Alzheimer’s disease has affected so many of her family members that it has become a constant worry, she said.
“We have lost family members for other reasons but it seems Alzheimer’s is the major one. It is kind of scary in a way.”
Morgan said after her mother was diagnosed, life was very chaotic, as her father passed away a few months later.
At the time, she had a 14-year old child and was pregnant with her second one.
Morgan tried but couldn’t find any support services in place to help her.
For the next seven years, she was the sole caregiver for her mother.
“I never got any help from the government or anywhere else, I mostly did it on my own,” she said. “I couldn’t find any type of respite programs that would allow caregivers a weekend break. I was lucky, though — I did have sisters who would come over.”
Finding an overall lack of support for families dealing with
loved ones with Alzheimer’s, her family started a support group.
“It was so we could talk about caregivers and try and come up with different solutions.”
Morgan’s mother passed away from Alzheimer’s disease in 1991. After that, she lost three aunts and an uncle as well as cousins to Alzheimer’s and, two years ago, her sister, Vera Popwell.
Morgan’s daughter, Sherry Murphy, 43, said Alzheimer’s disease is something that is constantly on her mind.
“It’s a big concern for everyone in the family but especially the women,” she said.
“They are worried, it’s very concerning.”
Murphy said she knows there’s nothing they can do, because even though there are medications out there to help deal with the symptoms, there is no cure for the disease.
“I just try and eat well and stay healthy.”
In the meantime, Murphy said her family is trying to do their part and has been taking part in the annual National Walk to End Alzheimer’s for about five years now in memory of family members lost to the disease.
Two years ago, they began holding a major auction/dance fundraiser to raise more money towards the cause.
“This year the entire family is coming together to make this happen,” Murphy said. “Everyone is out there helping getting decorations and auction items.”
The auction/dance is being held at the Shamrock Club in Dominion on Saturday. The auction will run 7-11 p.m. and the dance 9 p.m. to midnight. Admission is by donation at the door.
Dr. Wenda MacDonald, manager of client services for the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia, said there are a number of different risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease.
“We know genetics only plays a role in a small portion of families,” she said.
Alzheimer’s has genetic components, but it doesn’t mean a person will end up with Alzheimer’s because a parent or their parents did, she added.
“For most people, it’s indirect. It seems to be some sort of combination of the genetics you were dealt with and some sort of environmental factors that we haven’t figured all of them out yet.”
MacDonald said they do
know things that will reduce the risk and one is exercise.
“It helps reduce the risk better than any drug we have
right now,” she said.
“Getting out walking is one of the things that we do encourage people to do to reduce
the risk. That has been shown scientifically.”
Although some people do get Alzheimer’s disease at a
younger age, MacDonald said for the majority of people the first outward signs of it come past the age of 65.
MacDonald said Alzheimer’s disease is named after a Dr. Alzheimer who discovered it in a young patient he had and first published information on the disease about 100 years ago.