2023-09-18 08:05:00
The Association to Fight Alzheimer’s Disease (ALMA) in Roca is a space that not only contains the patient who suffers from the disease, but also also to the family members who make the commitment to carry out their care.
The group is interdisciplinary, it has psychologists, caregivers and lawyers, among other professionals. María Railef, is a social worker on the team and explained that they provide support and containment when the situation surpasses the person in charge.
“We understand how distressing it can be. There are difficult moments. No matter what day it is, we are there to listen to any crisis, whether by phone or by meeting us”he expressed and added “we are here to contain you in the midst of that anguish and the tears that you need to shed.”
In turn, caregiver Valeria Gauna, who has been working for 30 years, indicated that the people who carry out these tasks do so with affection, solidarity and empathy. “It is important to know that person’s history. If she liked music or art. If at any time a crisis occurs, we try to calm the patient with a song, a photo, a television program., even with a scent. That way you calm him down,” he explained.
But the Association not only supports families emotionally. The lawyer Emilse Lobos is also in charge of ensuring that the person who suffers from the disease can deal with it in the way they want with whoever they want to be cared for. “The last thing that is lost are feelings. “They have the right to have a decent life.”held.
Accompany as a team
Home caregivers play a fundamental role within families. They are the ones who allow the main caregiver to go to work, do paperwork or simply take a break.
“One also has to agree, as a family member, to let another person enter. That will allow you to take care of yourself. It is important that the family member has their time to be able to recreate. That is, like going to have coffee with a friend. So, I know that while I’m gone, my family will be taken care of. Everything takes a process in this situation. It doesn’t happen from one day to the next,” Valeria added.
When the patient is diagnosed, from the team They provide interviews in which they ask all family members to attend. There they explain what things can happen and how they can handle the situation. “It is important for everyone to know. From the oldest to the youngest,” highlighted Gabriela Mai, another caregiver from the Association, adding “you have to explain to them as they ask.”
“When you manage to be supported by your family, that is, share the responsibility of care, You can live with Alzheimer’s. It is not impossible,” said María.
The specialists insisted that families must support the diagnosed person. “You have to embrace it. Tell him, I understand you, I understand you. You don’t buy that with anything. They don’t need the best shoes or the best clothes. They need love. And that is not bought, it is given, we give not what we feel,” said María and added “we are here for the energy, for the love, that is what unites us. “All the members of the team want to help each other.”
Thus, the team provides different tips and tools when families need it most. Regardless of the time and place, they are there to listen. Empathy runs through the veins of these specialists who fight to raise awareness in society regarding this disease.which is slow, but painful not only for those who suffer from it, but also for those who have to care for and be present in each crisis.
Testimony Nancy
«It is very complex to care for a person with Alzheimer’s, but it can be, especially with the assistance of the ALMA group that helps me,” expressed Nancy Ortíz excitedly. She is in charge of caring for her partner who is 70 years old. “It is a difficult disease, I show her photos, some videos of her grandchildren, of her son,” she acknowledged.
The caregiver said that her partner no longer drives the family van. “We talked to the children and decided to hide the keys, because he wanted to go at night to throw out the trash two blocks away with a basket nearby,” she said.
He pointed out that Maria Railefrepresentative of the organization of the Association to Fight Alzheimer’s Disease He is always present when you need assistance.
“Different situations happened to me but I communicated with her and He gives me a lot of advice, on a day-to-day basis,” he said.
María understands that Nancy faces it because His mother had the same illness.
“When a person has Alzheimer’s, everyone in the family has to be informed, from the oldest to the youngest. As they ask, you have to explain to them what is happening with that grandfather, with that father. They have to understand that if they see him crying suddenly it is not something that happened recently, but perhaps some memory from the past,” Nancy explained.
The caregiver receives support from her son and her partner’s children. “They are involved in everything, every time there is a situation I ask them what they think,” she said.
Family members live close to home and although they work all day They are never missing when their father needs themalso the man’s sister, his nieces.
“Thanks to each of them I can cope with a lot of circumstances”he highlighted.
Nancy first met ALMA in Neuquén and was later delegated to the organization in Roca.
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