Dementia’s toll goes beyond the patient. Family members who step up to care for these patients often feel overwhelmed due to the increased stress and responsibility.
In 2011, more than 15 million Americans spent 17.5 billion hours, or an average of just under 22 hours per week, caring for a family member with dementia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And it can go on for years. Jerry Sallo can’t count the time spent. He was married to his wife, Jane, for 61 years, and she fought Alzheimer’s for nearly 10 years.
“It’s a gradual, terrible, horrible progression,” says Sallo, 86, whose wife, Jane, died in September after fighting Alzheimer’s disease, the leading form of dementia.
Read Full Article »