Dementia What Happens to a Family When Essay

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 748 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 2

Page 1 of 2

Dementia

What happens to a family when one member -- the husband -- slides into the terrible and mysterious illness called frontotemporal dementia? How does his wife deal with his disease? An article in The New York Times delves deeply into the life of a New York engineer named Michael French, who began acting in bizarre, unexplainable ways in his 50s, and now, at 71, can no longer speak, write, read or walk. This paper reviews that article and reports on recommended caregiving strategies for patients with dementia.

A Rare Form of Dementia Tests a Vow of "For Better, for Worse"

Michael French began acting a little weird when he was in his 50s, about ten years before he was diagnosed with the rare form of dementia noted in the introduction, according to his wife Ruth. This was totally out of character because Michael had run marathons, lectured at conventions, did volunteer work, and he had joined a book club focusing on history subjects. But when he began changing jobs a lot, Ruth just figured he was going through a phase because he had a "stubborn personality," not that anything was particularly wrong with him (Grady, 2012).

Stuck Writing Your "Dementia What Happens to a Family When" Essay?

View All Our Example Dementia What Happens to a Family When Essay

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

Bosses that Michael worked for were frustrated with his behaviors, and after being fired from several jobs, Michael retired at the age of 66.

No one knew what was wrong with Michael. His wife was so upset with his bizarre behaviors, she thought about divorcing him -- and she actually struck him "a couple times out of frustration" -- Ruth admitted (Grady, p. 3). But she took deep breaths, buckled down and made up her mind she would go through this with him whatever it turned out to be. When the correct diagnosis was provided to the French family, Ruth apologized to him "…for every perceived wrong or misunderstanding" and she cried; "I can't tell you how much I cried…" (Grady, p. 1).

Caregiving for patients with dementia requires a great deal of patience and understanding, according to the Times' story. They are "…hard to care for at home," especially frontotemporal dementia patients that are "…young, strong, and aggressive" because they can become violent (Grady, p. 6). One professor of psychotherapy and mental health counseling quit her….....

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Dementia What Happens To A Family When" (2012, May 21) Retrieved May 15, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/dementia-happens-family-80196

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Dementia What Happens To A Family When" 21 May 2012. Web.15 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/dementia-happens-family-80196>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Dementia What Happens To A Family When", 21 May 2012, Accessed.15 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/dementia-happens-family-80196
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example