#099: Coping with Alzheimer's Disease - Alzheimer's San Diego CEO Eugenia Welch & Clinical Care Specialist Preston Stocking

Over 10% of the US population is in some way affected by Alzheimer’s Disease. For the second episode of our San Diego Series, and our 99th long form conversation, Fran Racioppi visits Alzheimer's San Diego to discuss Alzheimer's disease, a progressive brain disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. 

Fran is joined by CEO Eugenia Welch and Clinical Care Specialist Preston Stocking to explore what Alzheimer's disease is, what the symptoms are, and how it impacts both patients and their families. They also cover Alzheimer’s San Diego’s pillars of support including a unique program training law enforcement officers on the signs of dementia and how to best handle affected citizens. 

Fran, Eugenia and Preston share their personal stories of coping with loved ones affected by Alzheimer’s. Whether you are someone with a personal connection to Alzheimer's disease or just interested in learning more about this topic, this conversation will provide valuable insights and information that can help all of us in the fight against this dark disease.

Learn more about Alzheimer’s San Diego on alzsd.org and on social media at @alzheimerssd.

Special thanks to the San Diego Military Advisory Council for their support in producing this episode.  

Read the full episode transcription here and learn more on The Jedburgh Podcast Website. Subscribe to us and follow @jedburghpodcast on all social media. Watch the full video version on YouTube.

Highlights:

• 0:00 Welcome to Alzheimer’s San Diego
• 2:10 Alzheimer’s by the numbers
• 5:53 The progression and stages of Alzheimer’s
• 8:54 The causes of Alzheimer’s
• 12:57 The importance of caregiver respite
• 15:30 Identifying the symptoms of Alzheimers
• 17:32 Alzheimer’s San Diego Educational Programs
• 18:56 Training first responders to handle dementia patients
• 21:42 ASD’s Social Work Programs
• 24:38 The financial burden of Alzheimer’s
• 28:50 Patient Care at ASD
• 33:54 Preparing for the “The Silver Tsunami”
• 39:48 Eugenia & Preston’s Three Daily Foundations

Quotes: 

• “3% suffer from Alzheimer’s. 10% of people are in some way affected by Alzheimer’s.” (2:56)
• “If you can have a healthy heart along the way, that's going to improve your chances of living a longer time.” (8:07)
• “Alzheimer’s can get very dark.” (10:07)
• “The younger you are when you are diagnosed the quicker you’re going to progress through the stages.” (10:55)
• “It’s not that you can’t find your keys…It’s when you have your keys in your hand and you don’t know what they do.’” (15:49)
• “Somebody with dementia could present as under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” (19:12)
• “The system is not prepared for the wave of older adults who are going to continue to have this disease.” (26:21)
• “It’s really important to kind of separate what is the disease and what is still your person.” (31:00)

This episode is brought to you by Jersey Mike’s & Compass Workforce Solutions