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Hernando Today

Losing sense of time

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By GARY JOSEPH LeBLANC Common Sense Caregiving

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 29, 2009

Usually, it's difficult to notice when an Alzheimer's patient progresses from the early stage of the disease into the moderate phase. One symptom to watch out for is a loss of their sense of time.

This difficulty will become apparent when you find them repeatedly glancing at the clock or constantly asking what time it is.

Some patients start this process earlier than others. A strong indication they're advancing into the next stage occurs when their sleep patterns become disrupted.

Since they can't remember what happened two minutes ago, it becomes arduous for them to estimate any time lapse. There are some patients that even become unable to distinguish day from night.

Keeping them in a simple routine helps them to keep some perception of time. When they have their breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time daily, they will at least have some sentiency of what part of day it is. A routine will help them maintain their circadian or biological rhythm.

My father wore a wristwatch religiously as if it was part of his physique, which did absolutely nothing for his time recognition and only enhanced his appearance. Why look at your wrist when you can ask the person next to you 40 times what time is it. Human bodies adapt to what time they awake every morning to the point where most people don't even need an alarm clock. This is not the case with Alzheimer's patients!

It's well known that long periods of time pass by faster as we become older. A 7-year-old may feel as if it takes an eternity between Christmases, but for an older adult its, "Wow, the holidays are already here."

I despise saying that Alzheimer's patients revert back to their childhood, but this is an accurate statement in more ways than one. If an Alzheimer's patient stood and watched a pot of water boil, it would become straight-out torture for them. Unfortunately, their attention span will grow shorter as the disease advances.

Gary Joseph Le Blanc was the primary caregiver of his father for more than eight years after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. He can be written c/o Hernando Today at 15299 Cortez Blvd., Brooksville, FL 34613 or e-mailed at us41books@bellsouth.ne

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