* Alzheimer’s impacts one out of every two Americans over 85, striking at the rate of one every 68 seconds! Its average duration is eleven years but can last twenty years and during that time our parents will eventually sleep all day, need diapering and not be able to recognize us.
* The close relationship between the caregiver and care recipient is a shared relationship with involved emotions, experiences, and memories, which can place these caregivers at an even higher risk than others for psychological and physical illness.
* Those over 85, “the frail elderly,” also comprise our fastest growing demographic.
The newest reports on the imminent shortage of paid caregivers can be truly frightening.
http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/a-shortage-of-caregivers/