{"id":1538,"date":"2021-06-03T15:02:59","date_gmt":"2021-06-03T15:02:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=1538"},"modified":"2021-06-03T15:03:33","modified_gmt":"2021-06-03T15:03:33","slug":"taking-care-of-the-ones-you-love","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2021\/06\/03\/taking-care-of-the-ones-you-love\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking Care of the Ones You Love"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"More African Americans Face Being Dementia Caregivers as Their Loved Ones Age<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Guest Column<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ohio State Rep. Stephanie Howse remembers the series of odd behaviors that kept raising questions about her mother: potato chips in the freezer; her mother visiting a friend and couldn\u2019t find her way back to the highway; a personality shift that was uncharacteristic.<\/p>\n

An only child, Rep. Howse, D-Cleveland, talked with her mom. \u201c\u2018Ain\u2019t nothing wrong with me, everybody forgets stuff,\u2019\u201d she remembers her mother saying. Howse was thinking: \u201cI am not just going to stand by and see something going on with my mom and not intervene,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Both she and her mother are used to the public eye. Rep. Howse serves the district her mother, Former Rep. Annie L. Key, represented. She\u2019s tried to be open about the struggles she has faced as a caregiver. \u201cMany times as an elected official, a public person, it can be very embarrassing for people to know your business or the turmoil in your home,\u201d she said. \u201cBut I just felt at a point that I just didn\u2019t have that luxury. I can\u2019t afford not to do anything to help my mom,\u201d Howse said.<\/p>\n

Since the time that Howse learned her mother had mild cognitive impairment and now vascular dementia, she has dealt with hiring in-home care, financial struggles, placement of her mother in an assisted living facility, stress. Being a dementia caregiver is a lot. Add to that the fact that Alzheimer\u2019s disease and dementia are not discussed openly in the African-American community and that contributes to isolation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just think that we don\u2019t talk about it even in our environments, even at church we don\u2019t talk about it,\u201d Howse said. \u201cCulturally speaking a lot of us are in a mindset of \u2018we keep family business in family business. We don\u2019t need everybody in our business and we are going to deal with it the way we are going to deal with it.\u2019 But that prevents people from sharing their story and just seeking some of the resources and support,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

On June 24, the Alzheimer\u2019s Association is hosting a free statewide virtual forum called \u201cEmpowering African Americans in Navigating Dementia Care.\u201d With one in three seniors dying of Alzheimer\u2019s or another dementia and African Americans being twice as likely to get Alzheimer\u2019s or dementia than white individuals, being a caregiver is something more African Americans face.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that when caregivers are armed with education about the disease, support and a good care plan it helps them and their loved one,\u201d said Melissa Dever, program director for the Alzheimer\u2019s Association. \u201cWe are intentionally reaching out to provide practical\u00a0tips on recognizing the disease, obtaining a diagnosis and navigating care needs after a diagnosis.\u201d<\/p>\n

To register for the caregivers\u2019 forum, people can call the Alzheimer\u2019s Association\u2019s 24\/7 Helpline at 800.272.3900. At the event, participants will hear from a physician who specializes in geriatric medicine, a caregiver, and the managing ombudsman of Pro Seniors, which helps seniors with long-term care and legal issues.<\/p>\n

Part of the discussion will be how to know the difference between Medicare and Medicaid benefits when considering home care options and long-term care needs. \u201cAs a black caregiver, the financial pressure that has been put on me at times, it is only God for real,\u201d Howse said. She said at her mother\u2019s facility, she had to use the family\u2019s funds to pay for two years before her mother became eligible for Medicaid. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to have some real conversations on financial planning,\u201d Rep. Howse added. \u201cI really want to be able to be a source of support for people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

While she said her mother\u2019s personality has changed since the diagnosis, she is thankful that her mother can still communicate and is still mobile. She said she sees a therapist once a month to help process the stress. \u201cI have constantly had a counselor to talk through stuff,\u201d Rep. Howse said. She said during this journey as a caregiver, she has learned to put herself first \u201cso I can be what God wants me to be and needs me to be at any time. It has helped me in my journey as a caregiver.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howse said she first tapped into the Alzheimer\u2019s Association for some social engagement programs for her mother. While she said her mother has not really accepted her diagnosis, \u201cshe knows it is an issue and she knows it is a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n

While being a dementia caregiver is challenging, Howse is driven by her love for her mother and said she will continue to seek the best care for her. \u201cI think it is irresponsible to let someone that you love just do things because that is what they want to do when you know that they do not have the mental capacity to necessarily make decisions that are in their best interest,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More African Americans Face Being Dementia Caregivers as Their Loved Ones Age Guest Column Ohio State Rep. Stephanie Howse remembers the series of odd behaviors that kept raising questions about her mother: potato chips in the freezer; her mother visiting a friend and couldn\u2019t find her way back to the highway; a personality shift that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"wf_post_folders":[58],"class_list":["post-1538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1538"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1540,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1538\/revisions\/1540"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1538"},{"taxonomy":"wf_post_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_post_folders?post=1538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}