When You’re Your Mother’s Keeper

Isolating myself in the corner of the library and burying myself in books has led me to some interesting information about age and aging in America and the world. I've decided to move my focus for these upcoming months to Alzheimer's disease after encountering literature that piqued my interest in the topic this past week.

(New York Times, August 21, 2009) One such article I found particularly unique is "When You're Your Mother's Keeper." The article describes the Cooper family's situation following Suzanne and Peter Cooper's decision to take care of Suzanne's mother, Irma Stitz, in their home instead of seeking the help of a nursing home.

Suzanne didn't realize how much of a commitment she was signing herself up for when her mother first moved into the house. Irma was in her early stages of Alzheimer's disease at that point. However, as the disease progressed, Peter and Suzanne's marriage become strained as Suzanne spent increasing amounts of time taking care of her mother. Taking care of Irma also came at the cost of the time Suzanne was able to spend with her young son.

I've picked out a role reversal outlined in this article -- Irma, an 84 year-old woman, has become somewhat of a child as she becomes increasingly dependent on Suzanne for support. Suzanne experiences guilt as she feels forced to seek help caring for her mother; taking care of Irma affects her social, personal, and familial life. What other affects to Alzheimer's patients have on their caretakers? Do we as a society extend too much of a focus on the affected individual when we should really be taking into account those burdening by administering care?