How Do You Tell Family You Have Alzheimer’s?
NPR’s All Things Considered began a series on January 24th that follows Greg O’Brien’s journey with early-onset Alzheimer’s, beginning with his diagnosis at age 59. There is lots of important stuff here, including the need for family dialogue and understanding. One dialogue is between the father and son, about why it was important for the son to serve as his dad’s agent under a Power of Attorney.
Here’s an excerpt from O’Brien’s powerful account:
“How do you tell your kids that you got Alzheimer’s? It sucks.
I had planned this family meeting, so all the kids were home and we’re going to go out to dinner. I knew I had to talk beforehand.So I’m in the bathroom, you know I felt a little bit like Luca Brasi in The Godfather, practicing my speech. ‘On the day of your daughter’s wedding….’
I could hear, ‘Daddy,where are you?’ So I came out and I went over the fact that their great-grandfather, my grandfather, had died of Alzheimer’s and my mother, which they knew. And now it’s come for me….”
To read or listen to the series on public radio or podcast, follow the NPR links here. O’Brien also has a book, On Pluto – Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s.