Treading Dark Waters - a Column by Ray Burow

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, but what does that have to do with Alzheimer’s disease and caregiving? Nothing, except that women make up the majority of caregivers in the United States. This means that over 60 percent of caregivers are susceptible to breast cancer. Breast cancer hits…

For millions of Americans, elder abuse is an unfortunate consequence of aging. The National Council on Aging (NCOA) estimates that one in 10 seniors ages 60 and older have been abused in the U.S. Physical abuse is just one form of mistreatment that some elderly people endure in this…

In the time that it takes to read the first few paragraphs of this column, someone in the United States will develop Alzheimer’s disease. One person in the U.S. develops the illness every 65 seconds, according to a 2019 report. The Alzheimer’s Association indicates that…

At the time of this writing, all eyes are on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States in anticipation of Hurricane Dorian. The state of Florida, all boarded up and awash with storm warnings and watches, braces for Dorian’s arrival as it continues to lash devastating wind and rain…

This week, pet lovers across the United States celebrated National Dog Day to bring awareness to the thousands of dogs that need rescuing. My golden retriever is celebrated every day. A last act of love Jack isn’t an official service dog, but he is a helper to my…

Life doesn’t come to a screeching halt while you care for a person who has Alzheimer’s disease. Time marches on for familial caregivers. There is a certain fluidity to life. We want to go with the flow, but it is difficult as we swim against the current. Events and…

One of the greatest privileges of my life was to care for my mother, who had Alzheimer’s disease. However, I was constantly fighting an internal battle. A feeling of inadequacy always bubbled beneath the surface. Many caregivers fight similar battles. This is why I wrote the following, which is…

Have you heard the saying, “Talking to yourself is OK as long as you don’t expect a response”? Most of us do it, and I believe that self-talk is particularly prevalent among caregivers. I am an audible self-talker, whispering declarations and questions to no one in particular. And I’ll admit…

This week people around the world celebrated International Day of Friendship. In 2011, the United Nations General Assembly designated July 30 as a day to recognize the power of friendship to address disharmony in the world by “accumulating bonds of camaraderie and developing strong ties of trust.” The saying,…

An Alzheimer’s diagnosis is perhaps one of the most difficult to accept, and yet an estimated 50 million people around the globe have Alzheimer’s or related dementia. How many suffer from the disease but haven’t been diagnosed — or deny their diagnosis — is unclear. Described by the…