Valderama
Inquirer
First Posted 05:42:00 12/03/2006
Filed Under: Health, Diseases
Published on page A17 of the December 3, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
LOCATED in a quiet neighborhood in Quezon City is a nursing home for older persons with Alzheimer’s disease. A couple, both doctors, put up the Noli Center for Alzheimer’s and Elderly Care in 2004 after undergoing extensive train
ing in the United States on caring for someone suffering from the ailment. The first of its kind in the Philippines, the center provides 24-hour care to its residents. It has US-standard facilities offering personalized special care, including assistance in going to bed, eating, bathing, taking one’s medicine, oral hygiene and grooming. Alzheimer’s is a progressive, degenerative disease which attacks the brain, resulting in impaired memory, thinking and behavior. It was named after physician Alois Alzheimer who first described the disorder in 1906. Often mistaken as part of the normal aging process, or at worst, insanity, Alzheimer’s is neither as simple as pag-uulianin or pagkamakalimutin (forgetfulness) or what many consider as second childhood. Noli Center was named after the mother of Dr. Rosa Gandahari A. Carpio, an anesthesiologist and associate professor at the Department of Anesthesiology of the University of Santo Tomas. She is married to Ramon, a gastroenterologist, who wanted to help his wife care for her mother. Pastel bungalow
The center is located on Maginoo Street, Barangay Pinyahan, near the V. Luna Hospital in Quezon City, It is a bungalow-style house painted in pastel colors. Inside, everything is peaceful and quiet. Each resident has a private room, with professional caregivers to look after them. The house has doorways with lever handles for easy opening, emergency switches in each room and bathroom, skid-free floors, disabled-friendly ramps and handle bars in key areas. The cost of confinement is comparable to that charged by Home for the Aged, and even lower than that in rehabilitation centers, according Dr. Carpio. The couple was encouraged to put up the facility after returning from their US training. Initially, Dr. Carpio said, their only intention was to understand the disease and learn how to care for her mother. She added that she and Ramon had tried but failed to find a place where they could leave her during the day when they had to go to work. Their experience, in turn, inspired them to help other families who may be finding it difficult to care for an Alzheimer’s patient. Individualized care plan
The center has an individualized plan of care which allows residents to live at their own pace by focusing on their strengths, enhancing their positive self-image and helping make each day a meaningful experience. Caregivers also have structured daily social and therapeutic activities for the residents to learn, grow and feel connected to others with similar needs. After bathing in the morning, they dress up like they are going to work, complete with makeup. Later in the day, they have handicraft lessons to make them feel functional. For spiritual nurturing, they have daily group prayer time and fellowship. Dr. Carpio’s mother, Noli, who is 81, used to be the curator of the National Museum and a part-time professor at the University of the East. She was 73 years old and retired when diagnosed to have moderate Alzheimer’s disease. Prior to that, she showed signs and symptoms like forgetting where she had placed her keys, being unable to complete a sentence, or spanking her grandchildren without reason. Later on, Noli started to forget how to do the things she did every day. She could not remember the ingredients for kare-kare, one of her specialties. At times, she would cook something and then forget what she was doing or worse, fail to turn off the stove. She also could not recognize her her own house even if she was standing in front of it. Memory loss
Alzheimer’s is a disease that makes it hard for people to remember, think and use language. It can make them act strange or moody. After a while, they begin to find it difficult doing simple things like using the phone or handling money. Memory impairment is a necessary feature for diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease. The most common symptom is confusion. The older one gets, the greater the risk of developing the ailment but the probability is higher for women and for people with lower education. Alzheimer’s disease may become manifest at age 40, but it normally afflicts people 65 years old and older. Having a relative with Alzheimer’s also increases a person’s risk of acquiring the disease. While researchers now have a deeper understanding of the brain and behavioral changes characterizing the disease, Alzheimer’s remains shrouded in mystery. Its cause is still unknown although a lot of theories have been advanced such as reduced level of certain brain chemicals. Because of structural and chemical disorders in the brain, Alzheimer’s disease seems to disconnect areas of the brain that normally work together. The disease is already in the advanced stage when a person who is usually neat would put her muddy shoes in the clothes cabinet. When the phone rings, she would grab something else like a pen and talk to it. At times, she would forget how to use use familiar objects like a spoon and fork. She also becomes paranoid, thinking that other people are stealing her money. There is a really radical change in the character of the person, Dr. Carpio said.
“A person with Alzheimer’s disease requires a different kind of caring compared to geriatric patients. They need 24-hour care,” she added. Her husband, Ramon, said that he was the one who had to explain to their children that it was now time for them to look after their lola, especially since she had looked after them when they were younger.
“We owe everything we have now to our parents,” he told his children. More understanding
At first, the couple’s younger children felt that their mother did not love them as much as she used to because all her attention was now focused on their grandmother. But as time went by, they began to understand their lola’s condition. Now, although Lola Noli spends most of her time in the center, her grandchildren get to enjoy her company when she visits them on weekends. Physical exercise, good nutrition and social activities are important in preventing Alzheimer’s or any other ailment. Being progressive and degenerative, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s. Treatment is intended to delay the progression of the disease, manage behavior problems, confusion, and agitation, modify the home environment, and support family members and caregivers. For persons diagnosed with the disorder, a calm, structured environment like the Noli Center, where treatment includes large servings of TLC or tender loving care, may help them continue functioning at some point.
