Sharpening the Catholic edge in Alzheimer's care - remembering who we truly are

It is a saddening scene indeed.

When visiting Grandma at the nursing home, she is spotted in the corner deep asleep in a chair. It is 11 in the morning— not the usual time for a nap, but when patients have exceeded the patience of caregivers, sedation is seen as a solution.

Dr. Vince Fortanasce has witnessed this lamentable scene many times. The worldrenowned California neurologist has been featured on Saint Joseph Radio and EWTN to discuss medical ethics. He has also been on 60 Minutes and has debated Jack Kevorkian, known as “Doctor Death,” over the value of human life, especially in its later stages.

Dr. Fortanasce said, “Unfortunately, nursing homes are often staffed by workers who are not trained nurses, and not even trained caregivers. They are, properly speaking, orderlies. They make beds, serve meals, clean up, and perform other tasks that do not require medical knowledge or even one presentation on how to serve dementia patients.”

Cannot serve two masters

Because focus on the bottom line can lead to crossing lines of medical ethics, Dr. Fortanasce, who authored The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription in 2003 and The Healthy Brain Book (with Dr. William Sears) in 2020, wants to raise health care standards by recalling the core of all bioethics: each patient is a person to be cared for, not a thing to be managed or manipulated.

For followers of Christ, this is accentuated further by realizing that when the sick (and others suffering) are being served, Christ is being served, as described in Matthew 25:31-40. With that breathtaking truth in mind, Dr. Fortanasce advises family of dementia patients to care for them at home for as long as possible. He said, “Patients usually do better in their own homes or in the home of a family-caregiver or friend-caregiver. This is because they are seen and treated as human beings in need of compassionate care.”

Dr. Fortanasce has other top tips to guide caregivers of those afflicted with memory problems:

Be patient with the patient. Dementia has been called a second childhood, since cognitive functioning declines tremendously, sometimes to the point of a person becoming like a baby. On that declining road, patients often need to be told and shown repeatedly how to perform what are easy tasks for other people.

Getting acquainted with the patron saints of physicians and caregivers can be immensely helpful. Saints Luke, Gabriel the Archangel, Camillus, Joseph Moscati, Gianna Molla, Teresa of Calcutta—and the patrons of dementia patients specifically— such as Saints Dymphna, Albert the Great, and Louis Martin (the father of Saint Therese of Lisieux) – are primed to help caregivers and patients alike.

Include as many family and friends as possible on the caregiving team. Research has shown that people with eight or more regular social contacts per week have significantly better memories than those with less than eight. More caregivers surrounding a person with Alzheimer’s will also lessen the workload on each and enhance productivity and longevity.

While in-person contact is ideal, Dr. Fortanasce believes timeliness of communication is the key. The give-and-take that constitutes a relationship can also take place effectively over the phone. Dr. Fortanasce even believes that saints and souls in purgatory can count as contacts.

Though the audible voices of Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Saint Therese of Lisieux, or Saint Francis de Sales may not descend from the sky at our behest, their thoughts and perspectives can be found in their renowned books, such 12 Steps to Holiness and Salvation, Story of a Soul, and Introduction to the Devout Life.

Keep the patient physically and mentally active. “Use it or lose it” is an axiom that has been borne out in medical research. If bodies and minds are not used for their intended purposes, they will become less and less capable of fulfilling those purposes. It is also noteworthy that a healthy body makes for a healthy mind, and vice versa.

Dr. Fortanasce, who was an alternate to the 1964 U.S. Olympic weightlifting team, has even found that “building brawn builds the brain.” Lifting weights increases brain capacity, which, in turn, prolongs memory. Obviously, not everyone can start a weightlifting program, but there are isometric exercises, found in The Anti-Alzheimer’s Prescription, that can be done by nearly anyone.

Watch not just what is eaten, but the order in which it is eaten. For blood sugar levels to be kept within a healthy range, fat, protein, and fiber should be eaten before complex or simple carbohydrates. This provides a steady supply of energy (without sudden spikes or valleys that come from improper carbohydrate consumption), helps cognitive functioning, and prevents plaques from forming on the brain.

Alleviate Stress. Dementia patients can get easily agitated, so it is important to avoid situations that increase stress or serve as a means for impulsive behavior. Weapons (including what can be turned into one) should be kept away from dementia patients at the onset, because that is when they are more likely to harm themselves or others out of frustration.

Things that encourage peace of mind should be provided. This can include serene, sacred music, such as is heard on the album Requiem (which means “rest” in Latin) from the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter; Inclina Domine from Cantores in Ecclesia; and The Chants of Angels, The Chants of Mary, and Giovanni Luigi da Palestrina from Gloriae Dei Cantores.

Quite possibly, the ultimate stress reliever is to be unburdened of sin. For a patient at the onset of dementia, it can mean going to Confession for what might be the final time. There will be a point at which he is incapable of understanding right from wrong, or from recalling whether he has done anything that needs to be confessed.

A caregiver might need to inform the priest beforehand that this penitent may require extensive listening, the asking of clarifying questions, and possibly the guiding of the whole confession with a Q and A session that runs through the Ten Commandments.

Use sacramentals as reminders and tools. A vital aspect of any community is a shared memory. The Church shares the memory of its Founder so well that He is made substantially present among her members. Since this presence cannot be seen with the eyes, there are countless visual reminders which satisfy the senses.

Statues, stained-glass windows, rosaries, medals, icons, crucifixes, and holy cards colorfully remind the faithful what they believe. Seeing is beneficial, but participating is even more so. For example, regular recitation of the rosary or even the Liturgy of the Hours helps to maintain a familiar daily framework and lessens the effects of dementia.

In Remembrance of Him

While the bioethical components to dementia care do not differ based on what religion a patient adheres to, there does seem to be a Catholic advantage when it comes to memory care. The sacramental and communal nature of Catholicism is conducive to human flourishing.

Tips for a memory care team can be, with certain adjustments, very helpful when young and healthy people apply them to themselves. “There is a genetic component to dementia, but reducing stress, eating well, exercising regularly, maintaining social contacts, and a healthy spiritual life all go a long way toward preventing memory problems where they do not already exist,” said Dr. Fortanasce.

TRENT BEATTIE is a Legatus magazine contributing writer.