The Alzheimers

Project

http://drjockers.com/20-ways-to-beat-alzheimers-disease/

OBSERVATION ONE
WEDNESDAY,
FEBRUARY 3, 2016
HBO: THE
ALZHEIMERS
PROJECT PART 1

Background
Information:

I.
OBSERVATION
Note: The documentary I
am observing is 39 minutes
long and I will be observing
the first 25 minutes of the
footage. Ive divided these
times based on when the
scene changes from one
individuals alzheimers
story to another. For each
person in this observation, I
observed the first 6 minutes
of their story, as it seemed to
entail the most important
details.

The HBO Alzheimers

Project shows the effects of
the disease on those with
the illness as well as how it
affects their families. The
project consists of a four
part documentary series, 15
short films and a campaign
that serves purpose to
provide information about
this devastating illness. In
this specific documentary,
they show the stories of
about four patients with the
disease and the impact it
has made on their lives. The
observation takes place in a
variety of different States in
the US. The recordings of
these films take place in
Birchwood, Wisconsin, St.

Main Actors

Fannie Davis - 82 year old

female, who was diagnosed
with the illness 3 months
ago. She is a widow and in
her early stage of
Alzheimers. Fannie has been
used to being independent
and taking care of herself
practically all her life and so
she does not take the
unfortunate news too well.

Confusion, forgetfulness,
frustration- We get to see
how as a result of the
illness, patients experience
these three feelings the
most. They get confused
about what is taking place
in their surroundings,
begin to forget everything
that was once important to
them and ultimately
frustrated at the fact that
they cannot control what
is happening.

Bessie Knapmiller - An 87
year old female, who was
diagnosed with Alz. 2
months ago. She lives alone
with her dog in the home
that her now deceased
husband was born in. Her
memory is deteriorating at a
relatively fast rate. She is
able to recognize faces but
the names do not follow.

Joe Potocny- 63 year old male

who was diagnosed 2 years ago.
He lives with his wife and as a
way to cope with his situation he
designed a blog in which he puts
his thoughts, feelings and
memories every day as the illness
progresses.

The Observation

The Observation

Start- 6 minutes: The scenery is of a narrow road covered with

fog all around. The Patient Bessie, is at her doctors visit and
though we cannot see them yet, their voice is audible in the
background. The scene switches to the doctors office and he
asks a series of questions such as what day it is, the season and
the former president. Bessie is now at home with her dog and
her daughter is visiting from next door and they have a
discussion about her taking her medication. Bessie feels the
medication will not make a difference as shes aware there is no
cure and no matter what she takes, it will only progress. It is
revealed that her sister Harriet,93, also fell ill to the disease. The
scene switches to Bessies choir rehearsal where she forgets all
the words to the songs.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=47722004

12-18 minutes: Fannie is

introduced at her home in Missouri
with her daughter as they talk
about how it has affected her life.
The next scene shows Fannie at
the doctors office being
administered a test to see if she is
still capable of driving. She is
shown various signs and asked
what she would do if she
encountered such signs. Fannie is
then taken outside to participate in
a driving test to see how well her
memory of driving is. At first she
struggles with starting the car then
proceeds to driving. She
demonstrated difficulties as she
was driving, she stopped when
there was not a stop sign and drove
into oncoming traffic. As Fannie
was driving further in the test, the
instructor told her to make a right
and was highly incapable of doing
so. She is in denial and is furiated
at the fact that she can no longer
drive. The doctor tells her she now
has to arrange to be driven
everywhere and she is more
worried about losing her
independence than her safety.

http://dzd.blog.uni-wh.de/soziale-medien-invermittlungspraxis-blogs-uber-demenz_02/

20- 26 minutes: Joe Is shown at home where he talks about

his accomplishments in the working field. He talked about how
he helped create some of the most used and well known items in
the world today for instance, the DVD. The scene switches to him
sitting around his computer explaining what his method of coping with alz is. Joe relies
on a blog that he created, Living with Alzheimers, to basically write down how he
feels day by day and the changes that are occurring. As he writes his thoughts throughout
the day, you can see how heartbroken he is because he knows he will soon get to the
point of no return. He decided to paint his home as a project and I believe doing these
things help him find some kind of inner peace and to keep the little sanity he has left. His
wife and family are very patient with him so he is not alone though he may often feel that
way. At times he may become unintentionally rude and blunt to those around him, this is
shown in the way he sometimes speaks to his wife as well as the cameramen when he tells
them, he does not want to see their faces. http://dzd.blog.uni-wh.de/soziale-medien-in-vermittlungspraxis-blogs-uber-demenz_02/

Note: the documentary I am

observing is 44 minutes long. I
will be observing the first 33
minutes of the footage. Ive
divided these times based on
when the scene changes from
one individuals alzheimers
story to another. For each
person in this observation, I
observed the first 10 minutes of
their story, as it seemed to
entail the most important
details.

OBSERVATION 2
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6,
2015
HBO: THE
ALZHEIMERS PROJECT
PART 2

Background Information:
The HBO Alzheimers Project shows the effects of
the disease on those with the illness as well as how it
affects their families. The project consists of a four
part documentary series, 15 short films and a
campaign that serves purpose to provide information
about this devastating illness. In this specific
documentary, they show the stories of about four
patients with the disease and the impact it has made
on their lives. The scenes that I will be observing
takes place in the different states in the US. The
recordings of these films take place in Rochester,
Michigan, Blooming Prairie, Minnesota and
Guntersville, Alabama.
Main
Actors Throughout the
Film:

1. Woody Geist- 81 year old

male who was diagnosed
14 years ago. Woody is
experiencing the severe
stage of Alzheimers,
otherwise known as the
late stage. He only
recollects memories that
has happened in his
earlier stage of life. He
now resides in a nursing
home with frequent visits
from his family.

2. Josephine Mickow- 77 year

old female who was
diagnosed 5 years ago. Her
illness progressed at a
quick rate and as a result of
this she has lost almost
complete ability to make
verbal communication.
Josephine lives with her
daughter.

Cliff Holman- 79 year

old male, diagnosed
with Alzheimers 6 years
ago. Cliff still remains
aware of certain things
but typically things from
a while back. He lives

The Observation

Start- 10 minutes- Woodys story begins with his sister a record being played in the
background. We are introduced to Woodys daughter and wife talking about his life
before he fell to the illness and his love for music. Woody greatly values music. He
whistles to a song as he is shown sitting on a couch in the nursing home. The caregiver
asks questions to the patients, some who seem to be in the mid-stage of alzheimers and
other in the late stage such as Woody. An old lady cries repeatedly in the background
mumbling, I cant do this, I dont like it as she rubs her face. She is paid no attention
to as it seems it has become a norm. Woody has developed an attachment to one of the
patients in the nursing home.

Her name is Kathy and they are very affection towards each other and can be seen
everywhere together. Kathy tells all the folks at the home that Woody is her
husband and he agrees. When Woodys wife and daughter come to visit, they greet
Kathy almost as if she has become family to them. They take him out to a grunyon
and during the car ride he repetitively asks the same questions. Why are we in
here? Where are we going? Will I know these people? His family has
become accustomed to behavior as they make small jokes about the issue. While
Woody is at the grunyon, they honor him on stage and he sang songs with his old
companions. It is almost intriguing to watch Woody sing the songs word for word,
as the alzheimers has not yet affected all of his long term memories.

14- 22 minutes- The scene is introduced on a vast farmland area with a soothing gust of

wind blowing in the background. Josephine is playing with a metal chain wrapped
around a gate as she hums and makes a repetitive noise. The chain is used as protective
measures so that she does not go wandering off. Her daughter is now on the scene
talking about her fears for her mother as she begins to cry. Josephine has become
unaware of her surroundings and barely withholds any recollection of any form. She
mainly interacts with object around her and communicates with herself. Before
encountering alzheimers, Josephine painted a lot and so she tends to paint over her old
canvases or on rocks that she finds. She mainly interacts with object around her and
communicates with herself. Before encountering alzheimers, Josephine painted a lot
and so she tends to paint over her old canvases or on rocks that she finds.

This indicates that, that part of her hasnt completely left as yet. While they are
out for a walk, her daughter picks up a small stone and shows it to her. Josephine
takes the stone and proceeds to putting it in her mouth. Her daughter tries to
remain calm so she can remove the stone from her mouth but Josephine refused
and became defensive. After it is removed, the scene switches to the kitchen
where the daughter blames herself and starts to cry. In the final scene, they go to
collect the mail and Josephine tries to wander off alone and she is quickly
grabbed and directed home by the daughter

23- 33 minutes- The scene starts with Cliff laying still in bed with an old TV show
playing on the television in the background. His wife then walks into the room and
sees him trying to get out of bed as she lays him back down and asks him to remain
in bed, although she knows it is a matter of seconds before he tries to move again.
She claims the reason for him attempting to get out of bed is a representation of
knowing he has somewhere to be. She has hired a personal home caregiver to feed,
groom and wash him. His wife states that he likes things almost as children do,
such as excessively sweet and fatty foods. As she prepares him a meal she puts a lot
of butter and sugar on the food because he wont have it any other way.

A little snippet of photos is shown on the screen of Cliff in his younger days performing
in his magic shows for children. Following this scene he begins to talk to himself and
says, I got to do a show tonight, 6:00 or lets see 6:30 and I gotta make all kitties
disappear. He still continues to talk about the show which demonstrates how great of
an impact it had on his life. When he is removed from his bed and taken into the living
room, he asks his wife to get him his yellow paper and his book, which were things he
used prior to his shows. This aspect of his memory remains unaffected. In order to get
him to stop speaking about it, his wife makes someone call the house phone to say it has
been cancelled and she delivers the message to him.

OBSERVATION 3
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8,
2015
HBO: THE
ALZHEIMERS PROJECTTHE CHILDREN

Background Information:
This aspect of the projects does not necessarily focus
on the lives of those with Alzheimers and how it affects
them, rather, how it affects the lives of their
grandchildren. The children are introduced and each
share a very brief summary of their situation. It
ultimately serves purpose to help the children become
more aware of what is happening to their grandparents
and why it is happening.

Main Actors Throughout the Film:

I.

Maria Shriver age 61- The

author of the book What is
1. Maria
Shriver
agegrandpa
61- The is
happening
to my
author
of
the
book
What
is
the narrator of this
happening
to my
documentary.
Hergrandpa
father fellisill
the narrator of this
to alzheimers and so she
documentary.
Herafather
fell ill
decided to create
film that
to
alzheimers
and
so
she
are victims of grandparents
decided
create She
a film
that
with the to
disease.
gives
are
victims ofthroughout
grandparents
commentary
the
with
the
disease.
She
gives
film and lessons to help the
commentary
the
children withthroughout
their concerns.
film and lessons to help the
children with their concerns.

http://www.findagrave.com/cgibin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=47722004

2.
Saralyn, age 8- I
remember my
grandmother a lot before
she got Alzheimers
disease, when she could
speak, when she could
walk and when she could
hug me.

4.
Hayley, age 7-
3.
Hayley, age 7My grandpa Brooks is
My grandpa Brooks
really great and he loves
is really great and he
children. Sometimes he
loves children.
does remember my name,
Sometimes he does
sometimes he doesnt.
remember my name,
sometimes he
doesnt.
5. Margaret, age 10
(Genevieves sister)- It
6.
Liam, age 8
makes us nervous when
(Genevieve and
we think about our
Margarets brother)grandpa and all the
Once he realy
alzheimers things that
forgets us, I think well
could happen. He won't
be really really sad but
even remember me, so it
for now were worried
will be like Im a
about him but were
stranger.
not too sad.

7. Drew, age 12- I used

to think it was somehow
my fault but now I know I
just think its something
that happens and its just
mutations in the genes or
something.

8.
Daylen, age 7- I have
a grandfather that has
alzheimers. Its a sickness that
makes the person thats got it
not remember things.

The Observation
2- 8 mins - Genevieve sits on a park bench watching a kite fly with
her grandfather. She questions him about whether or not he will
forget her one moment and then remember her the next and then
ultimately forgets her completely. In a saddened but soothing voice
he tells her, I would want to not ever have that happen but if I do
forget you, i probably will never remember you again. Genevieve
looks to be hurt but rather understanding by what he has said. They
are joined by the other 2 grandchildren and his wife as they move to
a picnic table and they ask him questions as well. At one point he is
asked if he remembers their mothers name and he jokingly says,
mother. When they realized he could not remember the name,
they helped him out. Maria Shriver begins her commentary on the
first lesson and says she believes that the more families sit down
and have open discussions about the situation, the easier it is to
cope.

Name of interviewee: Roberto Vargas

Age: 18
Attends: University Of North Carolina, Charlotte

I conducted my interview on one of my fellow classmates, Roberto

Vargas. Robertos grandmother is 90 years old and suffers from
late-stage Alzheimers. Due to the fact that he has first hand
experience, it made sense to carry out my interview with him as he
was a good candidate and would be able to relate more to the
questions asked.

1. What was it like or how did you react when you found out your
grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimers?
Um, I mean I didnt have a reaction because I didnt really know
what alzheimers was until I got older.

2. How old were you when you found out she has Alzheimers? Did
you have any knowledge on what that was?
I was around 9 or 10 and at the time, I was young so I didn't really
know what that meant.

3. Do you remember anything specific that she did as a result of the

illness?
She would always lose her purse. Always. Once she lost her purse
and it took us about 2 months to find it

4. Do you have memories of how she was prior to being diagnosed

with the illness?
She would always cook and she would cook the best food ever and
she was nice. But what I remember most was her cooking because it
was always on point.

5.
If at all, how has it affected your relationship with her?
Now I feel like we dont talk much because she forgets everything so
the illness has inhibited us from getting closer.

Dealing with a patient that suffers from alzheimers can be extremely challenging,
frustrating for some and emotional depending on your relationship with the individual. It
requires a great deal of patience and time. One rule for dealing with a patient with
alzheimers is to refrain from ignoring them. Though at times their repetitive questions can
become a nuisance, avoid shutting them out. Its perfectly okay to interact with them even
though theyll soon forget again, you should try to treat them as if theyre another colleague
and not just a person with the illness. Try not to question them or quiz them about things in
hopes that they remember. Asking a variety of questions will only cause them more anxiety.
Trying to make them remember everything longer only adds stress to their minds and is in no
way beneficial to them. They have the disease and it will progress regardless of what is done
so in a sense this is only benefiting you. A part of you doesnt want to let that person go so
you take the extra measures to slow the progression, the quicker you accept it the better it is.
Another way to deal is by going with the flow of what is being said. Patients with alzheimers
tend to have poor judgement about their surroundings, so if they insist on calling a tree, a
building just go with the flow. By correcting them, it isnt helping the situation but you could
always try to see things in their perspective and make conversation from there. As it worsens
they will need to be under full care, as theyll often misplace valuable things, wander around
the neighborhood, attempt to drive even when theyve lost that ability to and eventually
unable to take care of themselves, physically.

Alzheimers patients and need for attention

Alzheimers patients and repetitive questions
Misunderstandings of their surroundings and what goes on

Search Terms
Impact of alzheimers on the memory aspect of the brain (hippocampus)
Alzheimer patients inability to care for themselves
Alzheimers impact on cognition

1. Schuff, N., N. Woerner, L. Boreta, T. Kornfield, L. M. Shaw, J. Q.

Trojanowski, P. M. Thompson, C. R. Jack, and M. W. Weiner.
"MRI of Hippocampal Volume Loss in Early Alzheimer's Disease
in Relation to ApoE Genotype and Biomarkers." Brain 132.4
(2008): 1067-077. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.
2. Samuel, W., E. Masliah, L. R. Hill, N. Butters, and R. Terry.
"Hippocampal Connectivity and Alzheimer's Dementia: Effects of
Synapse Loss and Tangle Frequency in a Two-component
Model." Neurology 44.11 (1994): 2081. Web. 09 Feb. 2016.

Sources

Impact of
Alzheimers on the
hippocampus

1. Barnes, R. F., Raskind, M. A., Scott, M. and Murphy, C. (1981),

Problems of Families Caring for Alzheimer Patients: Use of a
Support Group. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 29:
8085. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1981.tb01233.x

Search Times

Alzheimers
patients inability to
care for themselves

1. Wilson, Robert S., and David A. Bennett. Cognitive Activity and

Risk of Alzheimer's Disease. Current Directions in
Psychological Science 12.3 (2003): 8791. Web...

IV.

Alzheimers impact
on cognition

In the past years, Alzheimers has made a

drastic increase in the lives of people
worldwide. There is no cure so patients rely on
medication to slow its progress. In each of the
videos, as it shows how individuals live and
cope with alzheimers, we get more of an
insight on the negative impact it places on a
person. Alzheimers attacks the hippocampus
which in turn affects the memory of those with
the disease, ultimately leaving it desolate. I am
interested in its developing process and why it
occurs. This paper will continue to explore the
effect of alzheimers on not the entirety of the
brain but rather the hippocampus and how it
affects processed information for memory. I
will also explore the difference between what
is deemed a normal brain and what is deemed
abnormal, in reference to Alzheimers.