As the Republican Party does everything it can to limit healthcare for Americans and others in need, a health crisis appears to be growing rapidly. KHOU’s Vicente Arenas reported this story today on the skyrocketing rates of Alzheimer’s Disease in the Latino community. Latinos are among the least insured in Texas and suffer from various debilitating ailments because of lack of access to health care; especially preventive health care.
The Alzheimer’s Association of Houston knows one of its biggest challenges will come from the city’s growing Hispanic population.
“And that’s why we try to educate the community that there are certain neurological changes that occur in the brain, and the earlier they can get a diagnosis, the earlier there can be an intervention,” John Meade of the Alzheimer’s Association of Houston said.
When it comes to Latinos, Alzheimer’s forecasts are startling.
Researchers expect a 600-percent increase in Hispanics suffering from the disease by the year 2050.
They believe the dramatic rise will be partly due to diabetes and lack of medical care.
Part of the challenge is that with Latinos and Spanish-dominant people, the neurological testing required is not necessarily Latino-friendly. Having sat with my mother through one of those diagnostic tests, I saw how some of the questions in the cognition testing could easily be taken out of context by a person who can speak English, but is still Spanish-dominant. I can only imagine what can occur with a person who only speaks Spanish. So, this gives me hope.
Strutt is trying to turn those numbers around by studying current Alzheimer’s tests and coming up with new ones designed specifically for Latinos and Spanish-speakers.“At least with this research, what we are trying to do is get rid of all those extra factors that could be clouding the results,” Strutt said.
Strutt said traditional tests don’t always catch Alzheimer’s early enough in the Latino community.
Ultimately, as a community, we must do everything we can to educate ourselves on this disease. We must teach people in the community that this disease is not taboo. And, although some families are lucky enough to come together to share responsibilities, going through this takes a village of friends, too. More than anything, we must not forget the caretakers.
For more information, visit http://www.alz.org/. And while you’re at it, sign the proclamation to President Obama to make Alzheimer’s a national priority. We must not wait till 2050.
Note on Mom: I mention my mother because I wanted to show that we did the responsible thing and took our mother for the testing. As the saying goes, better safe than sorry. Mom is enjoying a healthy life in Lantana, TX.
Note from Toni regarding caregivers:
Those angels among us who care for Alzheimer’s patients and others with chronic illness are often forgotten. Caregivers do everything from scheduling doctor appointments and filling prescriptions to feeding, bathing, and changing the people that they care for. Their work does not have set hours, is emotionally draining, and, very often, thankless.
Mary Theresa Vasquez, R.N., author of Mi Mamacita Tiene Alzheimer’s (My Beloved Mother has Alzheimer’s), is a member of the National Family Caregiver Association. The association has launched the Family Caregiver Stamp Campaign. They are lobbying the U.S. Postal Service to develop a commemorative stamp to honor caregivers.
A family caregiver is a relative or friend taking care of a loved one who is currently chronically ill, disabled, or living with the frailties of old age and who is no longer able to care for themselves. The services provided by family caregivers represent approximately 80% of all home care services and are conservatively valued at more than $300 billion a year.
Please join me in sending your letter of support to the NFCA. The form letter can be downloaded here. Please mail the letter to Ms. Vasquez at the address listed at the bottom of the letter. She is tracking all the letters before submitting them to the U.S. Postal Service Citizen Advisory Committee.
Do not forget the caregivers, one day you might find yourself in their shoes caring for a loved one. You might also find yourself on the receiving end of their loving care. Please, take a moment to print out the letter and mail it to Ms. Vasquez. While you’re at it, you may want to drop her a note and thank her for her efforts on behalf of caregivers everywhere.
Thanks for this informative post. On a personal note, my parents, Daniel & Zulema Davila, were neighbors of Mr. & Mrs. Ulloa when they lived in Monterrey, Mexico over 50 years ago. Our families are very close and the Ulloa and Davila children were raised in Houston's East End.
Yet, I must admit that my family should be included in the group of friends, as mentioned in the story, that abandoned Mrs. Ulloa after being diagnosed. This story was very sobering on many fronts.
We get caught up in our own lives that we miss opportunities to make visits and offer help that would greatly benefit friends in time of need. I applaud the Ulloa family for sharing this very personal struggle and hope that we all learn something from it.