美国国家公共电台 NPR Family Caregivers Exchange Tips, Share Stories To Ease Alzheimer's Losses

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

People who are living with Alzheimer's disease need caregivers. And often, that job falls to a family member or a close friend. It is a difficult role. And now some caregivers are getting some extra support. Blake Farmer reports from member station WPLN in Nashville.

BLAKE FARMER, BYLINE¹: Vicki Bartholomew started this monthly support group because she needed it herself.

VICKI BARTHOLOMEW: My husband's still living, and now I'm in an even more difficult situation. I'm married, but I'm a widow.

FARMER: They gather in a conference room where her husband now lives, a residential² facility called Abe's Garden. They draw the shades and open up in ways they can't with their closest friends.

BARTHOLOMEW: They don't understand that I need them.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: We do.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: We do.

BARTHOLOMEW: You all do.

FARMER: Bartholomew's husband, a prominent local attorney, moved out in 2015. And she's starting to remember him more fondly - when he could care for her. But that's a recent breakthrough.

BARTHOLOMEW: I was in bad shape by the time he - I didn't think I was.

(CROSSTALK)

BARTHOLOMEW: Now, I did have health problems. And I know I was depressed³ now.

FARMER: The toll⁴ on Bartholomew is why the Alzheimer's Foundation of America focuses on the estimated 16 million unpaid⁵ caregivers in the U.S. CEO Charles Fuschillo says, without an imminent⁶ cure, the foundation has been highlighting the necessity of those caregivers and promoting in-person and telephone support groups along with webinars.

CHARLES FUSCHILLO: To provide them with the best practices on caring for somebody - but so equally as important, we want to do everything we can to avoid caregiver burnout.

FARMER: It sneaks⁷ up on even the most committed, especially as the nights grow more sleepless⁸. Alzheimer's patients will pace the house or wake up their partner every few minutes. They could even become violent.

PAM HAWKINS: And I've had some issues at night that I had to take care of alone. But I'm not ready to have anyone there at night.

FARMER: Pam Hawkins had to hire caregivers during the day. But she's adamant⁹ about keeping her husband at home.

HAWKINS: He's not going anywhere. He's staying at our home until he moves to heaven. We made that decision a long time ago.

FARMER: But many caregivers have no choice. April Simpkins says tending to her husband became all-consuming. And she's young enough that she still needs to work.

APRIL SIMPKINS: It was not possible for us to keep Joe at home.

FARMER: One night, she had to dial 911 when he kept yelling in the hallways of their condo building. And yet, she felt some societal pressure.

A. SIMPKINS: There's a lot of glory given to the whole idea of someone being longsuffering and staying at home and giving up their life, basically, to care for their loved one. And it makes it harder for people who can't do that.

FARMER: Everyone around the table nods in agreement. Despite the varied¹⁰ stages, they understand the complicated existence many call the long goodbye. The support group ends with hugs. Some head for the parking lot. Others buzz through the locked doors to see their husbands. April Simpkins sits down for lunch with Joe.

A. SIMPKINS: Look at that. Use the fork. Let me get a strawberry for you. Is it good?

JOE SIMPKINS: Cold.

A. SIMPKINS: Cold?

J. SIMPKINS: A little on the cold side, yeah.

A. SIMPKINS: (Laughter).

FARMER: April drapes an arm on her husband's slumping¹¹ shoulders. He's just 66 and looks younger.

A. SIMPKINS: You know, there are some days that are...

J. SIMPKINS: How many of you think I'm capable of handling myself? Raise your hands.

A. SIMPKINS: (Laughter).

Yeah, some days are clearer than others.

FARMER: April tries to stop by every day. But she says it's a wicked kind of blessing¹² that when she misses a visit, he no longer notices. For NPR News, I'm Blake Farmer in Nashville.

(SOUNDBITE OF BONOBO AND FINK'S "IF YOU STAYED OVER")

KING: That story was part of a reporting partnership¹³ between Nashville Public Radio, NPR and Kaiser Health News.

(SOUNDBITE OF BONOBO AND FINK'S "IF YOU STAYED OVER")

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

3 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

4 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

5 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

6 imminent   

adj.即将发生的，临近的，逼近的

参考例句：

• The black clounds show that a storm is imminent.乌云预示暴风雨即将来临。
• The country is in imminent danger.国难当头。

7 sneaks   

abbr.sneakers (tennis shoes) 胶底运动鞋（网球鞋）v.潜行( sneak的第三人称单数 )；偷偷溜走；（儿童向成人）打小报告；告状

参考例句：

• Typhoid fever sneaks in when sanitation fails. 环境卫生搞不好，伤寒就会乘虚而入。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Honest boys scorn sneaks and liars. 诚实的人看不起狡诈和撒谎的人。 来自辞典例句

8 sleepless   

adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的

参考例句：

• The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
• One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。

9 adamant   

adj.坚硬的，固执的

参考例句：

• We are adamant on the building of a well-off society.在建设小康社会这一点上，我们是坚定不移的。
• Veronica was quite adamant that they should stay on.维罗妮卡坚信他们必须继续留下去。

10 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

11 slumping   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的现在分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Hong Kong's slumping economy also caused a rise in bankruptcy applications. 香港经济低迷，破产申请个案随之上升。
• And as with slumping, over-arching can also be a simple postural habit. 就像弯腰驼背，过度挺直也可能只是一种习惯性姿势。

12 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

13 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。