"Wandering, when in the context of Alzheimer’s disease, is defined as getting lost and becoming disoriented. It is a common behavior in those with Alzheimer’s. When I was my mother’s caregiver, there were a few occasions when she wandered into potentially dangerous situations."
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"Gopalakrishna, the dementia specialist at Banner, said recent studies indicate the diagnosis of dementia for Hispanics and African-Americans is higher than for non-Hispanic whites. There’s no one single way to explain the prevalence of this disease among people of color, Gopalakrishna said. Yet, there are certain risk factors for dementia that are present in those communities, specifically cardiovascular problems like diabetes and hypertension, he said. Education can help prevent cognitive problems later in life, Gopalakrishna said, which means the educational inequities prevalent in minority communities often puts them at a disadvantage."
VIDEO: "What is dementia?... Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon, this short introduction explains the essentials of a condition affecting 850,000 people across the UK today."
"Andres Martin, a 31-year-old Marine, is being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a rare form of Alzheimer’s disease that impacts people with roots in Jalisco, Mexico. He worries his daughter, Alexis, who is not yet 2, will also have it."
"On November 18, 37-year-old José Garcia reached the finish line of the Bakersfield Marathon—but he didn’t cross alone. Before the end, Garcia went up to the sidelines to take hold of his 76-year-old mother-in-law, Odilia Esparza, who is battling late-stage Alzheimer’s disease, so she could finish the race with him."
"For nearly four years, John Jerome O’Hara took charge of his mother’s care at a Kentucky nursing home as Alzheimer’s disease robbed her of independence. O’Hara gained power of attorney over her affairs in June 2014 and was expected to manage thousands of dollars in income a month — and, perhaps most important, direct most of it for living expenses at Wesley Manor in Louisville."
"A specially-designed memory test may help predict who develops Alzheimer's disease later in life. Jean and Kathy Norris-Wilhelm have been together 22 years. Jean started forgetting things, but it took two years of neurological testing to get an Alzheimer's diagnosis."
Some people with dementia wander away and get lost. A bracelet can help find them. | Washington Post
"Kirk Moody is still searching for his wife, Nancy Paulikas, who went missing in Los Angeles in 2016. Her disappearance helped inspire a new program there to safeguard people with dementia or cognitive conditions that make them prone to wander. (Rob Kuznia) In October 2016, a 55-year-old retired software engineer with early-onset Alzheimer's wandered out of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art as her husband used the restroom. Nancy Paulikas hasn’t been seen since. Kirk Moody still spends time nearly every day looking for her. 'There hasn't been a single trace,' he says."
"In many families, Thanksgiving dinner is a collaborative effort. Someone brings the Brussels sprouts, someone cooks up cranberry compote and someone arrives with the pumpkin pies. Maybe it’s time, experts say, to assign one dinner guest to keep an eye on your family member who has Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia. Otherwise, that relative may end up sitting alone, staring into the distance, as others mingle after the meal."