The Medical Advisor

Debra Westbrook never imagined she’d be accused by the police of stealing her mother’s pets. But that’s exactly what happened one evening when the sheriff showed up after her mother, who lived next door, reported the “theft.” In that moment, Westbrook realized that dementia was rewriting her mother’s reality—one hallucination at a time. Her mom thought Westbrook had snuck in and out of her bedroom window and left with a cat under her arm. At first, it was deeply upsetting, Westbrook told The Epoch Times. “She looked at me so seriously and said, ‘Debra, I saw you,’” she said. In hindsight, Westbrook sees the humor in such an improbable accusation. “I learned then that caregiving for someone with dementia means accepting a new reality and learning to navigate it without judgment or argument,” she said. That night marked the beginning of a long, frustrating, but ultimately transformative experience for Westbrook and her husband, Billy, as they cared for her mother and her mother-in-law, b...

Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of dementia, eventually leads to the inability to carry out even the most basic of bodily functions, such as swallowing or walking. It is ultimately fatal, as conventional treatment options are few and universally ineffective. Dementia vs. Alzheimer’s Disease: What is the Difference? Like autism among children, Alzheimer's among seniors has reached epidemic proportions, with no slowdown in sight. On the contrary, evidence suggests the trend is worsening. In 2022, Alzheimer's affects more than 6 million Americans, 1  and 1 in 3 seniors dies with dementia or other demention. By 2050, Alzheimer's diagnoses are projected to reach 13.8 million. 2 , 3 While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists the disease as the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. (4,5), statistics published in the journal Neurology in 2014 revealed Alzheimer's is vastly underreported on death certificates. In r...