jcapo3 and samismom22 posted under Age of Caregivers thread. jcapo3 is 46. His wife has AD, and she is 52. Their kids are 12 and 16. Samismom22 and her husband are both 47. He is the one with the AD.
jcapo3 - Since you and your wife have young kids, please check the resource on the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - left side - AFA Teens. It is a support group for pre-teens and teens who have a parent with Alzheimer's Disease.
I started this site in 2007, because I needed a place that dealt with my unique issues as a spouse of an Alzheimer patient. It is now a place of comfort for spouses/partners who are trying to cope with the Alzheimer's/dementia of their husband/wife/partner. The issues we face in dealing with a spouse/partner with this disease are so different from the issues faced by children and grandchildren caregivers. We discuss all of those issues here - loss of intimacy; social contact; conversation; anger; resentment; stress; and pain of living with the stranger that Alzheimer's Disease has put in place of our beloved spouse/partner.
The message boards are only part of this website. Please be sure to log onto the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - and read all of the resources on the left side. For the two of you, whose spouses have young onset AD, there are 4 sections for EOAD (early onset AD- now called YOUNG onset) members - two of which focus on the young teens whose parents have EOAD There is a great section on informative videos, and another excellent resource - Early Onset Dementia - A Practical Guide. You can go to the top of this page, click on "search", and type in EOAD, making sure the "topic" circle is filled in. All of the EOAD discussions will come up - there are about a dozen of them.
Do not miss the "previous blog" section. It is there you will find a huge array of topics with which you can relate. There is a "search" feature on the home page that allows you to look up different topics that may have been explored in a previous blog. Log onto the home page daily for new blogs; news updates; important information.
Oh my goodness so young you both are ......you are part of this new generation of Alzheimers spouses. This place will give you comfort, help and lots of compassion for this journey. Having a EOAD husband is tough enough but with children so young it breaks my heart. Please ask your questions, share your stories and let the friendship this sight has help you where it can.
welcome jacapo and samismom. its indeed devastating to see those so young afflicted with this disease. i cant imagine how difficult this journey can be with kids still at home but with lots of love and understanding you will do just fine. hope to see you both join in the discussions and lots of info in previous blogs. divvi
I also want to welcome the two of you, jacapo and samismom. It is bad enough to have to be in a position to have your spouse with this terrible disease but you are so young! divvi is right in the fact that love and understanding is the most important help of all. We want to be here for you whenever you need a rope to hang on to, we will tie another knot in it.
Thanks everyone for you welcome and kind words of support!!!! :) I will have to get in contact with jcapo3 as I also have 2 kids. My son is 16 and daughter is 14.....and yes it is crazy having a spouse with this disease at this busy, crazy stage of life. I work full time ( actually hubs and I both taught at the same high school for years before he had to stop teaching last year) and our kids are busy in sports and other activities. Sometimes I am so busy taking care of the household needs and the kids activities I feel that I don't have time for hubs. It's all so sad at times. We all have a good sense of humor, let me tell ya that sure helps!
I didn't realize you also had kids at home. Please log onto the home page - www.thealzheimerspouse.com - and look on the left side where the resources are. Scroll down to AFA Teens and check it out. It is a website of support for teens and pre-teens whose parents have AD.
Thank you all for your gracious comments. Joan, your website is truly amazing. You & all of your members are full of useful information. Very similar circumstances as samismom22 here..........my wife, (an RN) had to stop working this past July, & both kids are all over the place in sports. Thanks again.