North Texas family shares emotional journey caring for mother with Alzheimer’s
By Briseida Holguin
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TEXAS (KTVT) — November marks Alzheimer’s Awareness Month as more than 7 million Americans, including hundreds of thousands of Texans, live with the disease, and families like the Scotts are urging others to seek help early.
CBS News Texas’ Briseida Holguin sat down with the Scott family, who has spent the past two years learning what it means to care for a loved one with Alzheimer’s.
Lamia Scott said her mother, Marvie, was diagnosed two years ago. The change was swift and painful.
“Someone who was once always sweet, kind, and caring to everyone was now just rude,” Scott said.
Marvie is one of an estimated 460,000 Texans over age 65 living with Alzheimer’s. About a year ago, Scott learned her mother also has agitation in Alzheimer’s dementia — a condition the Alliance for Aging Research says affects about 44% of Alzheimer’s patients.
Scott described agitation as taking many forms, including pacing, restlessness, or sudden anger. For her mother, it’s even more specific.
“My mom’s key agitations are wandering, repetitive questions, hoarding,” she said.
But navigating these symptoms wasn’t easy. Scott said she struggled to find resources and now wishes she had spoken up sooner.
“Had I reported this a long time ago, her doctor could have given me resources, or given me other outlets and things that I could have done to help manage that,” she said. “But I’ll be honest, I was sad and a little embarrassed that I was experiencing these things with my mom, that I didn’t reach out for help to anyone.”
A study from the Alliance for Aging Research found that 32% of caregivers feel reluctant to talk to healthcare professionals about agitation because they feel guilty.
Scott hopes others won’t wait.
“The longer you wait to seek help or to ask questions, the tougher and the harder it’s going to get,” she said.
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