The Mississippi Alzheimer’s Association Training

WINSTON COUNTY, Miss.(WCBI) – For the estimated 5 1/2 million people living with Alzheimer in the U.S. everyday tasks are everyday challenges.

The Alzheimer Association Mississippi Chapter is working to ease those challenges by educating those who work closely with the disease.

“It’s more than forgetting where you’re keys are. If you find you’re key and don’t remember what they are,”said Alzheimer Association Director Cindy Widdig.

The Mississippi Alzheimer Association Chapter is giving communities throughout the state a clearer understand of what this disease does to patients.

“You see it everyday but don’t know the importance of caring for that person. The things that are, needed to care for them when they have Alzheimer,”said Alzheimer’s Training participant Nakesha Weaver.

Weaver she says Alzeheimer’s has touched her family and caring for people living with forms of Dementia runs in her blood.

“I have as a little girl, I saw my grandma care for someone who had Dementia and she helped take care of him,”said Weaver.

She says growing up with those experiences made her very familiar with the challenges Alzheimer’s patients go through.

“Some of the challenges is a lot of people don’t understand they may see the color blue and you may see purple. You go along with them and make them feel comfortable. Don’t argue with them that’s the main purpose that they do they try to make them become them they don’t see as an Alzheimer’s patient they don’t see what you see.

Widdig says caregivers should also remember to take care of themselves.

You forget to ear right exercise, take a break. What we find is the caregivers many times pass before a person living with the disease because of the stresses,”said Widdig.

Widdig says she hopes all attendance understand, the only way to combat the disease is to recognize it and know what to do next.

” It’s important that we get these community educators trained so they can educate throughout the state and educate the citizen’s, the community members on Alzheimers Disease, what to look for what to expect how to care for their loved ones just to get the word out in Mississippi,”said Widdig.

For more information on Forms of Dementia.