My great-grandmother was diagnosed with dementia when I was a teenager. In the beginning it was easy to help care for her, but as everyone got older family moved out of state. My aunt was the main caretaker for my great-grandmother and even moved into her home to care for her. My great-grandmother stole everything she thought was interesting and always wanted a can of beer. Because she couldn't remember having a beer, she always wanted one more, so the non-alcohol beer worked best in our case! I helped care for my great-grandmother, and my family took turns spending time with her while my aunt worked, or took a break. It was a lot on my family, so we moved her into a secured memory care unit at a senior living community. We had the chance to visit whenever (I also worked there, so I saw her daily) and it was a huge stress reliever. She received all the care she needed and we were still able to take her out whenever we wanted. It was tough, but the support of family helped.

My name is Rebekah and I live in a small town in central Georgia. I have worked in a skilled-care nursing facility for the last 9+ years. I have received extensive training on how to handle residents who have dementia (Alzheimer's disease included) and truly feel like this is an area in which I can offer some insight to caretakers looking for some help with their loved one. Please reach out if you have any questions and I would be more than happy to help in any way that I can!

I was not a professional caregiver I helped take care of my grandfather for the last two years of his life. He began living with my family and me after he started showing symptoms. My mom and two aides that would come over were the primary caregivers. My job was to help him in the afternoon after I got home from school and at night when he needed to go to bed. Because he couldn't walk on his own, the aide and I would help him go to the bathroom. At night I would help put him into his wheelchair so we could take him to his room, and the get him out of the chair onto his bed. I didn't do much, but helping him was a regular part of my life for about 2 years. I learned a lot from this experience and his passing, and I hope to be able to help others in any way I can.