When a loved one has been diagnosed with a progressive disease such as Alzheimer’s, there is no doubt that the months and years ahead are going to be challenging one for you and your family.

Progressive Diseases Are Tough on Everyone

In the first few months after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, you will begin noticing that your loved one might easily confused or have repetitive conversations. As the disease progresses their memory will get worse, and at some point they will start forgetting names. As a child or a sibling of the person who has to live though and watch them worsen over time, this is very tough. Although the person that you know and love is still physically there, you have to slowly watch their personality and memories fade away. As the disease progresses, you and your family members will likely need to make the difficult decision to put your loved one in long-term care facility for their benefit.

Life Expectancy after Being Diagnosed With Alzheimer’s Disease

While there is no set amount of time that your loved one will live after initially being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, people can live 8 years (average) to 20 years. At first, it might be possible to provide care for your loved one yourself, but as the disease worsens your loved one will need the around-the-clock care that a long term care facility provides.

Skilled nursing staff is there to administer needed medications, engage them in appropriate activities, make sure they are getting the nutrition they need, drinking enough fluids and receiving the compassionate care that they need while they are in the progressive stages of this crippling disease.

Making the Decision for Long Term Care Is a Difficult One

There is no doubt that making the decision to put your loved one in a long-term care facility is a heartbreaking one to make. Given the nature of Alzheimer’s disease it is one that is going to be nearly impossible to avoid at some point during their illness.

For the comfort and safety of your loved one, you will want to choose a long term care facility that is close to home and has a solid reputation with providing care to people that have progressive diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s Disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Before making any final decision, you will want to visit several care facilities. This gives you a chance to visually inspect the property, talk with nurses and ask the person who is charge of admissions important questions about their policies on Medicare, private insurance, visitation policies, and any other concerns that you have concerning their policies.

By taking the time to assess all the options available for your loved one, you can take some amount of comfort knowing that you got the information to make the best choice for your loved one.