More than $5 million Americans are believed to be living with Alzheimer's disease. Tuesday is World Alzheimer's Day, when advocates hope to raise public awareness about the disease.
No one knows what causes Alzheimer's, but new research is producing promising results. For one Myrtle Beach couple, a cure can't come soon enough. Betty Herzog does her best to take care of Alvin, her husband of 66 years, who's had Alzheimer's for the past decade.
But the simplest task can be a challenge, because Alvin can't understand a sentence. "For instance, when I say we have to go eat lunch, I just say "lunch" and then we get that."
Betty has a daughter who lives nearby, who she says is a huge help and she says the staff in the assisted living unit at Myrtle Beach Manor is like family. She says she's happy with her quality of life, but it's still no fun dealing with the reality of the disease. "I'm living with a child. I'm sorry, that's the way it is."
Photos of the Herzogs' grandchildren and great-grandchildren are everywhere. Alvin spent 30 years in the Air Force. Today, Betty copes by remembering their active lives. "We lived in Hawaii, we lived in Germany, France, you name it and those were the good times."
Nurse Amy Frazier says working with Alzheimer's residents like Alvin is her passion, though treating them takes creativity. "What works now may not work 5 minutes from now, so you're constantly having to be proactive and think ahead."
Frazier hopes raising the public's awareness of Alzheimer's will help lead to a cure. And Betty Herzog looks forward to the day when no one else has to live with the daily demands of Alzheimer's. "Your life changes 100 percent," she said, "So I would hope that they would find a cure soon, yes."
Scientists have zeroed in on a protein called Tau, which helps predict the agressiveness of Alzheimer's. If they can figure out how to lower Tau levels, they may be able to slow the progress of Dementia.
Worldwide, more than 35-million people live with Alzheimer's.
