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Let us know how it goes.
Here's an example of what can be done.
One of our neighbors has complex health problems, including early onset dementia. She shares a home with an old friend and has daytime helpers about 30 hours a week. The helpers' job is mostly to help her focus and decide how to manage her life.
Left to herself she gets hopelessly confused and frenzied, but with her helpers she can organize her day and stay fairly stable. Her memory for "things to be done today" is pretty good, but she can't organize, plan and set goals without help.
The current situation is manageable and preferable to going into memory care. She has many friends close by and loves to help garden, care for animals and such tasks that support her need for purpose and sense of place. I don't know the details, but the family worked with local care providers to come up with the current arrangement. It took a few trials, but when the right home help people were found, improvement was quick.
Replies to "Let us know how it goes. Here's an example of what can be done. One of..."
Home help is very expensive especially in California, your neighbor will probably go on to full blown dementia.
I truly believe we will be ok as long as Alzheimer’s/dementia does not happen.
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@edsutton right at this very moment, mild Alzheimer’s is the least of my worries. I’ve been living alone for 7 wonderful years, and I could probably continue to for several years more if I didn’t suffer with more brain diseases.
I have 2 different neurological diseases that have movement , nerve, muscle, + much more consequences for me.
The newest one is Stiff Person’s Syndrome . It’s very rare (1 in a million) and there are few doctors who have treated anyone with it. It presents with extreme muscle spasms especially in the torso, and lots of other things. I need to use a walker now, and if I try standing for 10 min. my back goes into a spasm, and I MUST sit.
The other disorder is Ataxia. It’s caused by several reasons including genetic, and damage to the cerebellum. That damages the fine motor muscle movements around the eyes, and mouth. I have double vision caused by my brain so glasses can not help.
I also causes trouble with the gait. So the walker is important.
So, I believe I am in a crazy position. I need to speak with a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders. I need to find out if they can advise me about the progression of the 2 diseases.
Susan