Help for Today—Hope for Tomorrow
Ted

Parents of young children will immediately recognize the morning routine at Ruth and Ted's house.

While Ruth makes breakfast, she checks in to see how Ted's managing. When he finally comes to the kitchen, sometimes he's dressed, sometimes not. Some mornings he'll be pleased with what she's made for breakfast, others he'll complain.

And when it's time to leave the house, he may need to be reminded of where they're going.

But Ted is not a young child. Ted has Alzheimer's disease.

Ruth says being the primary caregiver dealing with her husband's illness is exhausting, but she wants him to be able to stay at home as long as possible.

To help her cope, both use the services of the Alzheimer Society, which Ruth calls a "lifeline" during these tough times. Ted attends the adult day program twice a week and Ruth attends a caregiver support group.

Ruth speaks regularly on behalf of the Alzheimer Society of Ontario about what it's like to care for someone with Alzheimer's disease. She is also a strong advocate of programs such as the ones she uses at the Alzheimer Society.

"You need to recognize your inability to do it all," she says. "But you know what? We tend not to do that, so we break down. It's OK to be overwhelmed. It's not OK to be a superwoman; help is available."

The Alzheimer Society assists people like Ruth and Ted by providing help today through counselling and education services and hope for tomorrow through Alzheimer's research.