A dad with Alzheimer’s runs to the end of the driveway every day to meet his “best friend”.
Caring for someone who has Alzheimer’s definitely takes its toll, both on a physical and emotional level.
As the disease progresses, the caregivers start taking on more and more of their loved one’s responsibilities, whether that’s going shopping, taking them to doctor’s appointments or maintaining the home. That’s hard enough, but on a psychological level, it’s devastating to realize your loved one no longer remembers the people and events they once held so dear.
Julie Bick of North Bend, Ohio, knows this toll all too well: Her father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s last year, shortly after the death of her mother. She and her two young children moved in with him to provide care.
Sometimes that means taking things away like the keys to his truck, or his desire to work in the yard and do the household chores he always enjoyed.
She said, “After some research, I found out that Alzheimer’s patients like routines and if you break them, they can get pretty upset and emotional,”
But there’s one routine her father cherishes so much that she’ll never interfere with it: his weekly chats with the local garbage man, Harold. It’s a ritual he looks forward to every Monday morning, and she sometimes walks down the driveway with him to meet the garbage truck, other times she leaves them alone so they can talk in private. She knows how much her father looks forward to their weekly chats, and she knows Harold is prized throughout their community for his small yet thoughtful gestures: