By Ed - The awareness article has been published

Ed1937

I was a little disappointed on how it came out. I told the reporter that I wanted the public to know the real bad parts of this disease. He told me he would not hold back. I only had one interview with him, and I had to cut it short after probably less than five minutes because I became emotional. We were supposed to try again at a later time.

But I'll excuse him because he just lost his mother to cancer, and I can understand why he might not have followed up with me so we could get into the real bad parts. He probably had other things on his mind. https://www.nwitimes.com/eedition/page-a1/page_2a64077f-2f47-55b5-aae9-27bfbb553b51.html

Jo C.

it is a start and you have done well getting this into the paper. The reporter more or less seemed to want to convey stats and info bits from various places, but he did include the essence of Carol and yourself. He also thankfully included the info re the Alzheimer's support which is priceless for those readers who were not aware of it.

Ed; I really very much enjoyed meeting you pictorially; Carol's Dogwood blossoms are beautiful. It may be that in the slow news world of "home" reporting that the reporter may be open to doing a Part 2 regarding personal caregiving and take it to the level you wish.

Awesome start and very kind and thoughtful of you to extend yourself to help others; that's our Ed! Hopefully, many readers of that article will now be able to find this place and benefit from the support and experiential wisdom and information for themselves and/or others who would benefit from it.

Well done, Ed;

J.

Ed1937

Jo, the thing that got me was that people reading the story are thinking the same thing they always have - it's a memory disease. That just doesn't cut it. There is so much more to it than that.

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Ed1937

I guess I didn't think about a paywall. Thanks for the tip!

Jo C.

I read the article and did not hit a Paywall.

Ed; your words are a great title for the reporter to do a Part 2: "It's Not Just A Memory Disease." I would hit him with it - could be a great article and beginning of his then getting in touch with a local Social Worker who works with families with dementia Loved Ones and could give info on local and national Resources. It would be a great series if he bothered to take it and run with it.

If he doesn't, then there will be found another source to use with a different writer.

J.

Nowhere

I think your article and the story was poignant. People dealing with Alzheimer’s will have a link of where to get support. About educating the general public about how ugly the disease is, I think they don’t want to know and fear it’s horrifying. What you might ask the reporter to do is, is to ask for that follow up interview and provide a list of what you wish the general population knew about the disease, and how they can support families in their communities isolated and struggling with the disease.

jfkoc

I could read the first page...then the paywall. Opened again to try the print solution and immediate paywall.

Jo C.

Gosh; I got to the whole article on both pages without hitting that noxious Paywall. Wonder what the difference was.

harshedbuzz

I hit the paywall.

Does this publication allow you to either "gift" it to others or can you cut & paste?

HB

Ed1937

For more than six decades, Ed and Carole Ladendorf made daily decisions together about their lives, their family and their future. Their relationship dramatically changed when Carole was diagnosed with vascular dementia and Ed became her primary caregiver.

“It was like somebody turned off a light switch in her head,” Ed recalled. “Being her caregiver was real hard at times, but I have a big family so I had support. Some caregivers have no support at all.”

About 80% of adults in need of long-term care depend on family and friends as their only source of help, according to the Caregiver Action Network, a nonprofit providing free resources to family caregivers across the country.

The value of the services that family caregivers provide for “free” when caring for older adults is estimated at $375 billion a year. This is almost twice as much as what is actually spent on home-care and nursing home services combined: $158 billion.

More than 65 million people provide care for a chronically ill, disabled or aged family member or friend during any given year. They spend an average of 20 hours a week providing care for their loved one. These caregivers are the foundation of long-term care nationwide, exceeding Medicaid long-term care spending in all states.

https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/nwitimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/f8/bf8290c2-e6e9-11ed-bf50-37ee389319a2/644c37828cd01.image.jpg?resize=1586%2C1307

Ed Ladendorf of Griffith reveals the darker underside of what it takes to care for a loved one — his wife, Carole.

John J. Watkins, The Times

Ed, who’s 85 and lives in Griffith, gradually learned that caregiving for a loved one can be incredibly challenging. On some days, it’s not a pretty sight.

“Unless you’re the one doing it, most people just don’t understand what’s involved,” he said. “It can get extremely difficult for anyone who’s not prepared to handle it. Thankfully, my daughter was able to help me care for my wife. She was able to reach through to her mother when I couldn’t do it.”

Carole was a registered nurse at St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart. Ed was a steelworker at the former LTV Steel in East Chicago. The couple has nine children and 32 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Carole’s passion was creating gardens that blossomed with beauty and whimsy, reflecting the couple’s enduring relationship.

https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/nwitimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/92/d925fb4a-e6e9-11ed-b0c6-f7d11ca0797a/644c3786a5f36.image.jpg?resize=1714%2C1209

Ed Ladendorf's wife, Carol, had been the gardener of the family and planted a row of dogwood trees in front of their home in Griffith.

John J. Watkins, The Times

The increasing ravages of dementia prompted Ed to become Carole’s primary caregiver. The disease entered their life as a gentle tap on the shoulder. It then forced its way into their home and marriage like an intruder without any mercy.

One morning, Carole asked Ed what he would like for breakfast, just as she had done for 60 years. Pancakes were agreed upon. Carole went into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator and pulled out the buttermilk. Then she froze.

“I don’t know what to do next,” she told her husband.

He didn’t know exactly what to do next with her worsening situation or his duties as a caregiver.

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Caregivers for dementia patients in Indiana are spending more hours on caregiving, with many of them experiencing their own serious health issues, according to a report released last month by the Alzheimer’s Association.

Specifically, the number of hours spent providing unpaid care went up 16% from 2021 to 2022. In addition, more than 57% of these caregivers report chronic health conditions and 34% report experiencing depression, the 2023 report states.

“It clearly underlines the need for caregiver support in Indiana,” said Natalie Sutton, executive director of the Alzheimer’s Association Greater Indiana Chapter.

Five years ago, Ed discovered ALZConnected, a free online community designed for people living with dementia and those who care for them.

“I knew nothing about dementia and caregiving until I joined it,” he told me. “I got to know other members and we felt like a family.”

He has shared hundreds of posts with other members facing similar circumstances.

“They know exactly what I was going through,” he said. “Caregiving is not for the faint of heart. It can be ugly at times.”

https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/nwitimes.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/97/89725c42-e6e9-11ed-874b-6b7ab3456257/644daece95828.image.jpg?resize=1714%2C1209

Ed and Carole Ladendorf in 1958 at the Lake County Fairgrounds shortly after they married. Carole died June 24, 2022.

Provided

Most caregivers I’ve met are physically and emotionally drained on a daily basis. Yet they wake each morning with the same mission: taking care of their loved one. This often includes dressing, feeding and bathing them, as if they were a child again.

Years ago I wrote about a couple in the same situation, except the wife was doing the caregiving. The only words he spoke at the end were “I love you” and “thank you.”

“If you had to pick only two things to say, those are the right ones,” the wife told me.

I’ve never forgotten it.

Carole Ladendorf died June 24, 2022. She was 82.

“The world was a better place with Carole in it,” her obituary states.

My favorite line, though, in her obit is this one: “Her imaginary rock-star husband was Rod Stewart.”

Ed said Carole still had her humor despite her situation: “Sometimes you just have to laugh. It helps to cope.”

If you need help coping as a caregiver, visit caregiveraction.org or call the organization’s help desk, 855-227-3640. Or contact the Alzheimer’s Association 24/7 helpline, 800-272-3900.

Here are a few key tips from the Caregiver Action Network:

• Take care of your own health so that you can be strong enough to take care of your loved one. Accept offers of help and suggest specific things people can do to help you.

• Learn how to communicate effectively with doctors. Be open to new technologies that can help you care for your loved one. Organize medical information so it's up to date and easy to find. Make sure legal documents are in order.

• Seek support from other caregivers. You are not alone.

mommyandme (m&m)

Thanks Ed! I used the print function available thru the publisher itself and could read the whole paper if I wanted.

I think it hit on some important points on the surface. A follow-up would be great, if you feel up to it and the writer is interested.

Thanks again for all you do here, there and for your beloved.

Iris L.

Thanks for posting. I read the entire article on my Android phone, I did not hit a psywall. I thought it was a wonderful article about caregiving and it touched on several areas.

Quilting brings calm

The last part of the article hits on a few caregiving tasks that don’t involve just memory loss ( such as bathing). So maybe sone people will read between the lines.

In addition, we will probably get an influx of new forum members here since alzconnected got some publicity. So that’s going to help a lot of beginners on this path.

M1

I hit the paywall too this morning so am glad you posted. Not bad I don't think--though no article can really do it justice. No book either, IMHO.