Selene Bocanegra Tizapan HARLINGEN – According to the National Library of Medicine it is estimated that 6.7 million Americans 65 years of age and older are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. A Harlingen caretaker spoke out on her experience with a mother with Alzheimer’s.
Diagnosed with mild dementia or early Alzheimer’s, Francisca Treviño allowed KVAQ-TV to take a look at a day in her life.
“Sometimes I don’t even know what [is going on in the world] or is,” Treviño said.
Trevino explained the different ways that help her remember tasks and family members, adding how she does not remember everyone in her family.
“When I focus on it and when I feel like seeing them and they’re not around,” she said pausing for a moment to think before giving up. “I don’t remember them. Especially, no I don’t.”
A primary caretaker for Francisca Trevino is her daughter, Ruby Ortega. Ortega explains when faced with repetitive questions she has to be patient with her mother and respond in a calm tone.
“I let her know that she’s repeating herself,” Ortega said. “If she does not remember I let her know, ‘Just go ahead and focus on what you’re seeing right now.’”
According to the National Institute on Aging, people who have the disease may become agitated or aggressive as it continues to progress.
With this information, Ortega says she has seen behavioral changes within her mother over the last two years.
“Certain days she’ll be upset, and she goes, ‘I know it’s going to be a day I don’t want to see anyone, because I’m going to say things that I do not want to say,'” Ortega said. “But then later on, she starts doing activities that get her happy where there is watering the plants, raking or with the pets, you know, she gets back into her tune and then she’ll be happy and praise and worship, sing we also sing a lot of and pray.”
Ortega explained how painful it is to see her mother slowly lose herself as time passes because of this disease.
“If they get upset because she just, she does apologize sometimes when she’s lashing out because, she goes, ‘I know I can’t control myself’ and she’ll say she’s sorry and she wants to be alone,” Ortega said. “But then she doesn’t want to be alone and that’s painful to see.”
Ortega went on to give her best advice to other caretakers who have or are experiencing a similar situation.
“You have fun and show them and teach them to pray, and keep them happy that is my message,” she said. “Because if they’re happy, you’re happy. God bless you.”
According to the National Library of Medicine in 2023, Alzheimer’s was the seventh leading cause of death in the United States. However, the disease goes deeper than the average person knows.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, within the brain there is a chemically sticky protein called bata-amyloid that once clumped together forms plaques. It is highly speculated by scientists that the overbuild of plaques may causes cell death and tissue loss in the brain. Resulting in the significant shrinkage of the brain during the final stages, affecting nearly all of its functions.
Ortega went on to give her final message to anyone with or without the disease.
“Give thanks to God, say hello to whoever is coming your way, moment to moment,” she said. “‘Do what you’re doing at that time. Live moment-to-moment day-to-day.’”Video edited on Nov. 18 and 2 p.m.See what students had to say in the full video.
