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FEATURE:
IN REAL TIME

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gift. When it comes to mental illness there is great reluctance to talk were out again on the floor as well as all the shoes from the shelves.
about it. I decided to share our trials with our immediate family. I My son walked in, and I lost it. Where were the tears the past four
sent an update via email every week in the beginning of N’s illness. months? Is there such extreme sadness when tears don’t flow?
To hear from his nephews and nieces, many who visited, was good
for N. It was also very good for me as caregiver to be surrounded by Rajam Ramamurthy, MD,
friends in the city, who were my angels. It is my advice that psychi- Professor Emeritus. UTHSCSA
atric illness should come out of the closet and be handled like any
other calamity that befalls a family. Suggested Reading:
The Grief Experienced by Spousal Caregivers of Dementia Patients:
We arranged for a 24-hour caregiver service. N was started on ap-
propriate doses of Sodium Valproate and Risperdal. He refused to The Role of Place of Care of Patient and Gender of Caregiver. Marilyn
take Risperdal as it gave him frightening dreams. N was very energetic G. Rudd, Linda I. Viney, Carol A. Preston. Int. J Aging Hum Dev,
and hyperactive. The caregiver who was sent by the agency was a four April 1999 Vol 48, Pg 217-240
foot tall women who sat in a chair, mute, and perhaps wanting to
run from this scene. Our son will be leaving the following morning Caring for loved ones with frontotemporal degeneration: The lived
and my sister in the afternoon. I walked into our bedroom. N had experiences of spouses. Lauren Massimo PhD, Lois K. Evans, PhD,
pulled out all his clothes from his closet and piled them up in the Patricia Benner, PhD, Geriatric Nursing 2013, Vol 34. Published
middle of the room, saying you should give all this to Goodwill. I online 2013 May 30.
quietly hung them up before anyone could see, I felt embarrassed for
him. After 30 minutes I walked back to the bedroom, all the clothes

32 San Antonio Medicine • January 2017