{"id":10461,"date":"2017-01-01T01:48:29","date_gmt":"2017-01-01T01:48:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/Essay%20by%20Diane%20Solomon,%20M.D.It\u2019s%20likely%20that%20every%20person%20reading%20this%20has%20been%20affected%20by%20Alzheimer\u2019s%20disease,%20either%20through%20family%20or%20friends.%20I\u2019m%20no%20exception\u2014m"},"modified":"2017-04-17T16:44:04","modified_gmt":"2017-04-17T16:44:04","slug":"in-her-shoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazines.uthscsa.edu\/mission-old\/in-her-shoes\/","title":{"rendered":"In her shoes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Essay by<\/i> Diane Solomon<\/a>, M.D.<\/b><\/p>\n

It\u2019s likely that every person reading this has been affected by Alzheimer\u2019s disease, either through family or friends. I\u2019m no exception\u2014my grandmother had Alzheimer\u2019s disease, and this is an excerpt from a poem I wrote about her shortly before she died almost 20 years ago:<\/p>\n

Battered and worn,<\/em><\/h5>\n
Grandma\u2019s shoes sit empty<\/em><\/h5>\n
on the bedside chair.<\/em><\/h5>\n
She is sleeping peacefully, breathing deeply.<\/em><\/h5>\n
Yet, she grips the bedside rail,<\/em><\/h5>\n
Holding onto life<\/em><\/h5>\n
Much as she used to hold onto the dashboard<\/em><\/h5>\n
When Grandpa drove too fast.<\/em><\/h5>\n
Her 92-year-old bones are barely covered with parchment-thin skin.<\/em><\/h5>\n
Her eyes slowly open<\/em><\/h5>\n
and there is no recognition.<\/em><\/h5>\n
She does not know me,<\/em><\/h5>\n
but she knows my love<\/em><\/h5>\n
And responds lovingly,<\/em><\/h5>\n
patting my hand<\/em><\/h5>\n
Just as she did<\/em><\/h5>\n
when I was a child.<\/em><\/h5>\n
\u201cI love you, too, honey,\u201d Grandma says.<\/em><\/h5>\n

I sometimes share this with the medical students I teach to emphasize the caring and compassion that are needed for people affected by dementia, whether they can remember who you are from one visit to the next or not. I\u2019ve always had a heart for the elderly\u2014even before I got my own AARP card!<\/p>\n

As a geriatric neurologist, part of my job is evaluating people with memory disorders to determine the cause. About 80 percent of the time, the cause of dementia is Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Receiving such a diagnosis is devastating, and before giving that news, I pray that God might somehow use me to be a blessing to the patient and their family. Yet, in the paradoxical way that God sometimes works, I am the one who is most blessed and inspired by the examples of love and caring I\u2019ve witnessed.<\/p>\n

Let me tell you some of their stories.<\/p>\n

I think of the husband who gently and lovingly answers his wife\u2019s question. It\u2019s the same question that he answered five minutes ago \u2026 and five minutes before that \u2026 and five minutes before that. It really does require superhuman patience.<\/p>\n

I think of the wonderful woman who took her husband on a long, special trip to an elite event because she could not bear for him to be disappointed, even though several physicians (including me) advised against it, thinking it would be too difficult. With careful planning and determination, she pulled it off beautifully.<\/p>\n

A woman in clinic yesterday told me she has participated in the 5K for the Alzheimer\u2019s Association for years. She admitted that in the back of her mind, she was thinking that she might get the disease someday and should support the organization. Tears welled up in her eyes as she said she never imagined it would be her husband who now has the disease.<\/p>\n

And then there is the man who spends every day with his wife, reading to her, encouraging her and walking with her, although she doesn\u2019t know who he is. But he tells me, \u201cI know who she is.\u201d<\/p>\n

I also think of my patients who continue to find purpose despite coping with significant limitations. Cognitively impaired people compensate for their deficits better if they have a regular, calm routine. It takes courage to allow a degree of independence within that supervised structure, but a conscious effort to do so conveys respect and often improves confidence. Whether it is helping with the laundry, sweeping the porch or setting the table, each of these tasks gives the person a way to contribute and to be a more meaningful part of the family or community.<\/p>\n

The most inspiring example I know regarding a patient with Alzheimer\u2019s disease maintaining a strong sense of purpose was demonstrated by San Antonio philanthropist Glenn Biggs. Even as his disease advanced, he remained committed to raising funds to help patients with Alzheimer\u2019s\u00a0and to support related research. He was a remarkable man.<\/p>\n

It is such an honor to be a small part of these lives, but it\u2019s a very difficult journey that these patients and their families are on. They need to know that everything that can be done medically will be done and to have the assurance that we will continue to walk alongside them.<\/p>\n

Caregiver support is critical. No one should have to face the care challenges without guidance. For example, it\u2019s hard to know when driving is no longer safe and even harder sometimes to convince the person to stop when it\u2019s not. What do you do when someone hits five cars in a parking lot, but insists he is safe to drive?<\/p>\n

Dementia is, of course, a major disruption for relationships, but it can also bring people closer together. Constant adjustments for a new balance in the relationship are required. What worked for the first 50 years of marriage often no longer applies. It is helpful to acknowledge these difficult transitions to the caregiver and to encourage participation in support groups.<\/p>\n

A multidisciplinary team is needed to address these and the many other daily challenges that arise. When the Biggs Institute for Alzheimer and Neurodegenerative Diseases<\/a> opens, a team of health care professionals from many disciplines will partner with community resources to address the medical and social needs of these patients. In addition, clinical trials will be offered and ongoing basic research increased.<\/p>\n

My hope is that I\u2019ve given you a sense of the heroes I serve\u2014the courage and perseverance of my patients and their caregivers\u2014and conveyed the promise of\u00a0the Biggs Institute to provide comprehensive, compassionate medical care and research. We can do no less, because this disease affects the people we love.<\/p>\n

Diane Solomon, M.D., is a professor of neurology in the Long School of Medicine. She practices at UT Medicine\u2019s Memory Disorders Clinic at the Medical Arts & Research Center. She is also the director of medical student education for the Department of Neurology. <\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Biggs Institute for Alzheimer and Neurodegenerative Diseases <\/a>will be the first comprehensive center of its kind in San Antonio and South Texas. Named for the late San Antonio community supporter Glenn Biggs, it will feature expert diagnostics; physician specialists in Alzheimer\u2019s, Parkinson\u2019s and other diseases; support programs for caregivers; and access to clinical trials of new therapies. It is slated to open in 2017.
\n<\/strong><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

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As a geriatric neurologist, Diane Solomon, M.D., examines patients with memory loss. Most of the time, the cause is Alzheimer\u2019s disease. That was also the case for her grandmother.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":10636,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[207,8],"tags":[93,95],"class_list":["post-10461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall16-winter17","category-features","tag-alzheimers","tag-neurodegenerative-disease"],"yoast_head":"\nIn her shoes - Mission magazine | UT Health Science Center San Antonio<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As a geriatric neurologist, Dr. Diane Solomon examines patients with memory loss to determine the cause. 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