Mind Matters: Life with Alzhe... Video Transcript

Webcast Transcript

At first, we lined them up in boxes, and different days and different kinds of boxes for evening and morning, but it was still confusing for him. So I do manage that now.

ANNOUNCER: In other activities, Allen has been successful in employing strategies to help compensate for deteriorating abilities.

ALLEN WILLNER, PhD: If I'm really worried, taking notes, leaving notes can be helpful, but that's for anxiety. If I'm worried that I'm going to not know something and I might forget it, I can write some notes, and I got it there and that's handy. But it's like insurance.

JUDY WILLNER: We write down a lot of things. If I'm going somewhere, if I'm going to be somewhere, I'll write down the messages. If Allen answers the telephone, he will always write down who called right away and he has a list when I come home so that I know what has happened. Notes are a great security for him as far as remembering what's going to be someplace or where something is or what time something's going to happen.

ANNOUNCER: Allen sometimes thinks his Alzheimer's disease is something he might be cured of. Other time, the reality of his illness seems clear.

ALLEN WILLNER, PhD: Well, I don't like having Alzheimer's disease. I don't like anything about the experience.

ANNOUNCER: Judy doesn't dwell on the future. But she's taken steps around the home, such as making sure a bathroom on the first floor is handicapped accessible. And she knows that as Allen's caregiver, she will need more and more help.

JUDY WILLNER: As time goes on, I will probably be calling on our children more to come, but I would imagine that it would be helpful for them to participate more in checking in on Allen and that will help a great deal.

ANNOUNCER: In the meantime, Judy and Allen are grateful his medication seems to have helped. And by modifying some of their routines, they're helping Allen cope, ensuring he enjoys the best possible quality of life.

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