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The Zaragoza Association of Relatives of Alzheimer's Patients points out that confinement meant "a delay" for these patients. And for the caregivers it has been hard on a psychological level. In Aragón there are about 42.000 people who suffer from this ailment.
El Alzheimer's -responsible for 70% of dementia cases in our country- there is no cure and there is no turning back when the disease takes a step forward. According to estimates by the Aragonese Federation of Relatives of Alzheimer's Patients (Faral-Alzheimer Aragón), In the Community there are around 42.000 patients in its different phases (mild, moderate and advanced). The professionals who work with them talk about the damage that the hard months of confinement had on the health of these people., in which day centers had to close due to the pandemic. Without forgetting their caregivers, who suffer from the disease differently and for whom this year of coronavirus He is being "hard" on a psychological level.
Pedro Salazar, managing director of the Association of Relatives of Alzheimer's Patients of Zaragoza (Afedaz), says that they observed that between March and July - they opened their day center at the beginning of summer - the advance of the disease did not slow down. "Contact was not lost because we followed up on support for the families via telematics. But, when they returned to the center, many users who were perhaps in a mild phase were in a very advanced phase. The disease has continued to progress instead of slowing down if they had used the day center or the psychostimulation center or if they had gone out in their usual routine. As of July, the evolution of these people in the center is the same as before the Covid. And they have gotten used to the mask, the hydroalcoholic gel... ", he points out.
Afedaz -one of the nine associations that are part of Faral-Alzheimer Aragón- is a private non-profit entity that serves nearly 500 direct users in Zaragoza and has 4.800 members since it was established in 1992. "The Center CAI Afedaz Virgen del Carmen is the only one in the city that cares only for people with Alzheimer's and other dementias. We offer families all the resources they need throughout the illness," emphasizes its managing director.
This "all resources" includes a residence (with 26 places), a day center, a cognitive stimulation workshop, a psychostimulation center, a psychological support group (individual and group) and an information, counseling and family orientation service. "In addition, from here we manage the provision of services at home for people with Alzheimer's: help, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and medical care," he adds.
