Changes in CB - Her Story
I am a caretaker for my wife Carol; she is 79. We met at school in the 11th grade. We’ve been sweethearts ever since. We celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary on September 1, 2022. We have two wonderful sons and their wives. They gave us six grandchildren, 4 boys and two girls. They have given us 4 great-grandchildren, all boys.
We are so fortunate to be able to say all of our family are healthy. That is until September 2020 when Carol was diagnosed with MCI. I knew something was wrong because she was getting lost going to appointments that she had been going to for years. In fact, I gave my notice in January 2020 to be effective June 30, 2020, at the age of 77. It was just 3 months later Carol was diagnosed with MCI.
I have been taking care of her for the last 3 years. She has since been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. She is moving fast; she has lost control of her bladder, and is very angry, especially in the afternoon and evening. Most evenings, we argue, and I try very hard not to argue with her, but she’s very combative. Her language is like I’m talking to a truck driver. I know all of this is the disease, but it still hurts. I haven’t been able to get her to the doctor in 1 1/2 years, and I can’t get her to take any of the 8 different medications that have been prescribed by both her GP and the neurological doctor. My feeling is she is in the middle of this horrible disease.
This is our story.
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