Big Kittie and Junior:
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 Big Kittie  Junior | Hello! Big Kittie here! How are you? Hey! Did you forget me? I am Junior. How are you doing? Today, we are working on one of our books. Our human mother types our books for us. We have trouble with that since we only have paws, which don't work well for typing! Junior says that she types our books because she works for FREE! Ok! Says Biggie. Let's get to the story. We want to tell you about what it is like to be a caregiver to someone with dementia or Alzheimers. Both of these diseases deal with memory loss. What's different about them in some people is the extent of the loss. We are going to tell you about what happened to our own mother's friend when she was a caregiver. Then, maybe you can help someone you know who cares for someone with this disease or another disease. The caregiver is the person who needs help and support! |
Big Kittie Junior | Purry Mason is a cat we know who has a human mother called Trudy. Trudy's mom is Mrs. Luther. Mrs. Luther has Alzheimers. Trudy's day begins with getting up at 5 a.m. She gets herself ready and goes across town to her brother Randall's house. Randall lives with Mrs. Luther and helps take care of her during the evening hours. Trudy leaves her home and goes across town to pick up the sitter for her mother, Mrs. Luther. She brings the sitter to the house. Then, Trudy begins the chores that will make for a long day. Trudy helps to bathe her mother. Why? Junior asks. Because she had broken her hip and doesn't have good movement in her legs. Oh! Now, can I go on with the story, Junior? Continue, Junior says. |
Big Kittie Junior | Trudy bathes Mrs. Luther, dresses her, and sets her hair. Then Trudy leaves for her office. Her brother Randall, before his work day, cooks Mrs. Luther breakfast, watches her take her pills, and then gives her a shot for her diabetes. Then, he leaves for work. At lunch, Trudy first has to come across town and get the second sitter for the afternoon. Then the first sitter gets picked up and taken home. How come they can't find one sitter for the day? Junior asks. This is the problem that most people do not see. You just can't find sitters sometimes because this is not an easy job. No one wants to do this work sometimes because it is very hard work in ways. Watching after someone who is an adult who really is like a small child is not easy. Trudy comes to the house and helps fix lunch. Mrs. Luther, who needs assistance for all her needs, will then need to be bathed again and dressed. Why? Junior asked. Because she has had an accident. Like when you miss the litter pan. Oh! Continue, Junior says. Thank you, Biggie says. |
Big Kittie Junior | Then, she leaves again to go back to work. Trudy has had no lunch herself. She just eats a pack of crackers and drinks a soda at her desk. At 5 p.m. Trudy quits her job for the day and comes back to her mom's house. Again, she has to clean her mother up, take the sitter home, and buy her mom a snack to eat. She then drives across town to her brother's work site, waits for him to get off work, and delivers their mom to him. He takes over for the evening. Randall's job is very hard because he has to get up all during the night. He fixes dinner. He gives Mrs. Luther her shots for diabetes in the evening. He does all the laundry and cleans the house. Boy! Junior says, these people have no life of their own! All they do is work, work at their mother's house, and do it again. Some life. My point, dear boy! |
Big Kittie Junior | This is the life of the caregiver. Day after day they do this job. It is very stressful. Sometimes, family will not help. Sometimes, the support groups and friends just don't take the time to ask them if they need help. Which they do, Junior says. Most of the time people don't visit or come by. They could help. Trudy's mother went to a church and no one came by on a weekly basis to see them. They just thought because things were getting done that they were all right. But, this went on for years and years. Finally, both Trudy and her brother Randall began to have some health problems. They were both so stressed. No one really seemed to care! They even asked for help from their church. No help came. Sometimes, people who mean well just assume that if someone looks like they are making it day to day, then there is no reason to reach out. |
Big Kittie Junior | Trudy and Randall asked for community services help. No one helped. Why? Junior asked. Well, sometimes Junior if you fall in the large gap of those income levels, you don't get a lot of help. People think you have enough money to make it so they just don't step forward. So what happened? Junior asked. Well! Trudy's mom became worse. She got to the point where she did not speak. She didn't understand anything or retain anything for more than a few minutes. Boy! Junior says. This is scary in a way. How would you like to have to care for one of our cat friends like this? I would not, Junior says. I gotta have time to "cat around" with my friends. These people had no time to breathe. |
Big Kittie Junior | Junior, dear boy, I know you and I know that you would take care of someone like our friend Purry Mason if that happened to them. Oh! Probably so, but I would need to see my vet and get some health support for my own wellbeing. Dr. Junior to the rescue, says Biggie. What we are trying to tell you, our friends who read our books is that sometimes it is very difficult to see what is happening in a family. You have to live there to see all the stress. Junior and I have been in a family of people who have been caregivers. It is not an easy life. It is very stressful. So, if your human household needs help, seek out those agencies for help. Go for support for yourself. Caregiving is not an easy job. True, a lot of people do not recognize what it is like till you have done it yourself. But, more and more people are seeing the "high profile" types who have this disease and have to have caregivers. Talk about it. Create support for someone you know. Be their life line. |
 Big Kittie & Junior | Love you. Have a PURR-fect day! Look for the rest in our series of books on Caregiving and Living with someone with memory loss. |
Big Kittie and Junior:
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