Church offers respite for Alzheimer’s caregivers_51605

Posted: 5/13/05

Church offers respite for Alzheimer's caregivers

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

ROUND ROCK–Wednesday mornings at One Way Baptist Church are filled with laughter and fun. Tables in the fellowship hall fill with people sharing stories and smiling at thoughts of days gone by.

A woman recalls stories about relatives who have passed away. One man relives war experiences in the jungles of Vietnam. Another man relays his daily workout routine before demonstrating each of his exercises.

These are the narratives of their lives. Each anecdote has a special meaning to the storytellers. But each tale must be taken with a grain of salt.

The people sharing stories are in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Their memory comes and goes; reality intermingles with fantasy. Some go as far as to acknowledge it occasionally, saying, “My memory isn't as good as it used to be.”

The gathering is one of a few Alzheimer's respite programs in the Austin area that provides caregivers a break each week. Five clients make up the group, and a list is forming of people who want in the program when more trained volunteers come forward.

Every caregiver who brings someone to the group also is a relative of the person they are caring for. They spend the overwhelming majority of their time watching over those they love. Those can be long, isolated days. “It's like having a kid at home all day,” said Debra Schultz, whose husband, Bob, has Alzheimer's.

The church program frees some of Schultz's week so she can run errands or take a break without worrying about her husband. Each of the church's volunteers is trained to care for people with Alzheimer's.

Clients seem to enjoy themselves as well. The church provides breakfast and lunch, as well as a variety of activities. The group creates crafts, sings some of its favorite songs, exercises and spends time working in a garden on the church grounds.

Geraldine Hines, who directs the program, said she can see the ministry's impact on its clients. They become more comfortable conversing with others. Their moods are lifted.

The ministry “gives him the opportunity to socialize with others,” Debra Schultz said of her husband. “You can say it keeps him busy, but it's more than that.”

For the church, the program represents several aspects of the congregation's ministry, said Pastor Bernard Buhl. Members are encouraging fellowship and demonstrating Christ's love for people by caring for those in the community. A devotional also is given each week.

“It's an outreach on our part,” he said.

While the ministry is for people with Alzheimer's and their caregivers, volunteers said they are blessed by helping. Smiles come across their faces as they discuss working with their clients.

The people who serve in the ministry are not simply volunteers; they are people who care. Each client is greeted with a hug every week. If a client has car trouble, a church volunteer will pick him up. Hines creates a CD of pictures for each person's birthday to help them remember the past year.

“It's just very joyful,” she said. “I rarely feel sad. I know the clients as they are now. I don't know them as they were. I accept them as they are.”