The slightest noise kept Sarah Paul up most nights. She was exhausted trying to care for her 92-year-old mother who was diagnosed with dementia, a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease, which Black people get at twice the rate as the overall population. “I hear her cough. I hear this or I hear that,” Paul said. “It was really getting to me.’’
The fatigue carried over into daytime chores at the height of the pandemic. Paul did laundry and prepared food– all of it pureed because her mother was bedridden and suffered from seizures. From one day to the next, she didn’t know what to expect because, like many caregivers, especially Black caregivers, she struggles, largely on her own, to handle the welfare of a loved one with dementia.
Black families have a two-fold problem when it comes to the growing crisis of Alzheimer’s disease. Although they are much more likely to get the disease, they are less likely than many other families to have the financial resources to afford outside care for the affected family member. To read the full story.