I am asking out of curiosity. I am not a caregiver but a loved one is and I just try to be supportive as best I can. Hypothetically speaking, if someone with AD didn't HAVE a caregiver, what happens? I mean if they are left to their own devices and are getting into car accidents because the state says they can drive still, the docs and courts say they are not "incompetent" yet so they can't be FORCED into some sort of facility. So, what would "the system" do with/for a person like this that has no family, no job, and no responsible party handling all their legal and financial issues for them??
If they end up in an ER after an accident or something and the docs see that on their charts they are diagnosed AD, or it is obvious from talking to them they have some issue, what do they do?
i dont think your scenario is all that hypothetical OldSkool. there are probably thousands of single members out there with AD or a variety of dementia going unnoticed and living on their own. many older folks have no family at all. if they were in ER and drs could tell they had dementia i would imagine since they cant turn them out they would become wards of the state and commited to forced care if no relatives could be notified thru personal identity, ie-drivers licence or some ID they carry or in the vehicle. until something happens to them many go without proper care. at least thats my opinion. divvi
A lot of "homeless" people and bag ladies and people sleeping on park benches and people who go to church kitchens for meals have dementia and no one to care for them, and they don't even have any money to be diagnosed until something tragic happens. They have slipped through the system. There are old people who lived alone and when they die, police find that they had 10 cats and/or dogs in the house for days or weeks and no one to care for them....who probably had dementia. There is no one to care for them or look after things for them. It is so sad.
Some doctors can spot AD, some can't. And it depends on what stage they are...at stage 5, most people can hide it from everyone but their loved ones. You have brought up a thought provoking issue.
ok, so what if they do have relatives or ex spouses alive but no one WANTED to take them in or take responsibility? DO they just get shown the door?
I am just trying to get my head around exactly how "trapped" a caregiver can get and what kind of "outs" the healthcare system provides. From what I have witnessed someone can "keep it together" long enough to convince a judge or a doctor they are competent but as I understand it, they get fatigued and "crash" later when in the care of their loved ones. It just seems like such a cruel trap, if you care about someone enough to not want to see them homeless or locked up in a state facility as an indigent, but then can't TAKE caring for them on your own at home, and they refuse to go to a care facility because they don't think anything is wrong with them... just wow.
24/7 Helpline: 1.800.272.3900 Oldskool454-above is the Alzheimer Assoc 24 hour number. You sound deeply concerned about someone and you might fiond the help you are seeking by calling the number
Too many people die in a bad way because the people who notice don't do anything about it. I agree with bluedaze, if you are aware of a certain person who may be in trouble, you need to follow through. For them and for you. How would you feel if something happened to them and you had not made the call.
I have a neighbor who's mother as dementia. She managed to hide it from everyone, and lived alone, until her neighbors called her son and told him what was going on. She was extremely far along, and probably would have died if she had continued to live alone. He lives several hundred miles away from where she lived. There were no local relatives and she had driven everyone else out of her life (which is pretty common).
So your question is a real one. I suggest you call the Alzheimer's Association anyway. You might also want to contact your local Area Agency on Aging because if some group can help your friend/relative and OUGHT to be helping your friend/relative that is the agency that ought to be doing it.