Talula and Sophie
Talula is a 53-year-old research collaborator. She cares for her 67-year-old mother, Sophie.
"My mother looked fine on the outside, but she is decaying on the inside."
A family dilemma
Talula works from home supporting her two teenagers and taking care of her mother Sophie. Sophie forgets the names of family members and began to have difficulty completing simple everyday tasks. She was now having daily anxiety attacks because she could not remember the recent event.
Sophie did not always recognize her daughter Talula, even though her daughter was with her most of the day. While Sophie rests during the day, she stays awake all night and tried to get out of the house.
Tulula was also up nights with her mother, and she realized she had lost much more sleep than she thought. The fear associated with her mother's decline has made her anxious, and her work and home life are totally disrupted.
Alzheimer's dementia has a painful worldwide impact. Women Two thirds of all cases of Alzheimer's are women.
Victims lose memories and their sense of self and families feel helpless watching their loved ones fade away.
Sadness and regret are associated not only with the woman slowly losing her mind and abilities but also with the caregivers and loved ones who watch without a solution.
Sophie's Neural Function Decline
Her mother's memory wasn't the only problem. Sophie's neurologic exams revealed that she has difficulty with logical thought, orientation to her environment, and self-preservation methods. She also suffered from visual hallucinations that caused her to get up and wander at night. Sophie's MRI Scan revealed brain atrophy and neuron damage, corresponding with her clinical findings of advanced Alzheimer's. Ultimately, Talula couldn't care for herself while being the sole caretaker for her mother and the head of her household.
The Plan
Sophie's doctor directed Talula to a specialized case manager to help arrange in home care at night for her mother. Sophie was referred to an adult day care program for Alzheimer's patients. They used neural sensory stimulation and specific motor routines to help her.
Their family experience
Talula accessed Your Brain Doctor® as a resource to end her family's suffering in silence. She became aware of the ways that she could manage and calm her mother's responses to her environment while she gained training on how to engage her mother with sensory and physical stimuli that help to balance the impact of her neurodegenerative disease.
Importantly, Talua engaged in the Your Brain Doctor® caregiver consult pathway in order to help her stay healthy and tackle the mental challenge of while taking care of her mother as her once strong and independent mother seemed to lose part of herself month-by-month.
