A VIEW FROM CANADA: Where are our social services? (12/31/89)

A VIEW FROM CANADA

by Nadia Diakun-Thibault

Where are our social services?

You may not even have noticed it, but November was designated as National Alzheimer's Disease Month in the United States. It is estimated that 4 million people in the U.S. are affected by this progressive neurological disorder; it strikes one in 10 Americans over the age of 65. In Canada, the figure is estimated at 300,000 in a population of 25 million.

Alzheimer's affects those areas of the brain that control memory and cognitive function. During the course of the disease, Alzheimer's patients gradually lose cognitive and motor skills until, eventually, they become completely unable to care for themselves. It respects no ethnic or socio-economic boundaries, and claims men and women alike. It affects the patient visibly by chipping away at memory, triggers personality changes, fear, anxiety, disrupts sleep patterns, and causes communications skills to deteriorate. The patient becomes withdrawn and sometimes hostile.

Physically there may be a sudden weight change due to appetite loss. In the most advanced stages, the victim of Alzheimer's loses motor skills and control of bowel and bladder, and becomes vulnerable to pneumonia and infections of the bladder.

As for diagnosis, there is no single test for Alzheimer's Disease. It takes both medical and neurological analyses by a physician experienced in the diagnosis of dementing disorders,and the examination of the patient should include a detailed medical history, blood test, urinalysis, EKG, chest x-ray, a brain "imaging" evaluation by computerized tomography (CT scan) or magnetic resonance (MRI).

Because the disease is slow in progression, it's hard to recognize in the early stages. In time it takes its toll on both patient and family. Alzheimer's takes one victim but many hostages.

When the reality of the disease sinks in, one cannot help but feel anger and guilt for not having recognized it earlier. And when you finally accept that very little can be done beyond coping with the situation and making life as comfortable as possible for the patient, you begin to focus on putting affairs in order. If the disease is diagnosed early enough, then both patient and caregiver can address legal and financial questions together. Careful planning can help make the task of caring for the patient much easier for the caregiver (often the spouse).

All this said, what does this have to do with the Ukrainian community in Canada and the United States? Among those afflicted with Alzheimer's are many Ukrainians. This shouldn't be a startling revelation, but odds are that it may be an uncomfortable one to read about. In Canada and the United States, there are associations that are equipped to assist with information and respite services.

As for the Ukrainian community, the status quo, sad to say, remains. For example, there is no solely Ukrainian nursing home in Philadelphia, which does have an old-age home, one which would be staffed by doctors, nurses and support staff that speak Ukrainian. In Toronto, on the other hand, Ukrainian social services are more developed and Ukrainians in Canada fare a bit better.

The population is aging; the needs of the elderly are becoming increasingly more complex. It's all well and good to place emphasis on language retention, maintaining cultural traditions, and battling for distant causes. And as the political canvas of Eastern Europe takes on new definitions, and there is talk of a "new immigration," will we be able to minister to its needs? Can we set aside anachronistic attitudes and petty differences for the welfare of the aged, the young, the new immigrants from Ukraine?

In the coming years, it may not be possible or practical for Ukrainian families to care for themselves as they have in the past. We will all grow old. We will all die.

Compassion, caring, understanding are words that may seem foreign to a community obsessed with politicking - both internal and external - even as the '90s approach.

It's not too late to change course. Why not call Ukrainian social services in your city, if there is one; if there isn't such an agency, help organize one. Help make a difference - one for the better - help assure that when you yourself need assistance, it will be there.

The columnist is donating her honorarium for this column to the Alzheimer's Association.