This is the result of bias and everyone involved in this drama is at risk because of this bias. The layers of learning that were carefully imprinted on the brain from birth are being eroded away and our people lose abilities in much the same order as they were acquired. It takes approximately the same amount of time for an adult with Alzheimer s to become totally incontinent. It begins with the first fumblings with clothing as eye-hand coordination is affected. It moves through rote memory which allows us to dress and bathe without consciously thinking through every step, and ends with the severing of the brain signals to the body and total inability to control bowels or urine.
Incontinence results from progressive brain damage.
It isn t about forgetting where the bathroom is. Our most sacred role as caregivers, is to help our people move back through the process of life with dignity, acceptance, and love. I was also inundated with the attitudes of a public already primed to see my caregiving as a burden and an unnecessary sacrifice. Of the books written about Alzheimer s Disease I found many devoted as little as a paragraph to the topic of incontinence care. The helpful hints lists, while potentially helpful to people who still had their reasoning abilities, did little to help our situation.