Football has been a favorite sport for Americans for decades, but lately, the medical community has been detailing the long-term harm it can do to players and its fight against dementia. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a degenerative brain disease that has been linked to the repeated impacts to the head that occur in football games. As this form of injury has become increasingly documented, more high school athletes have been shying away from this long-time favorite sport. The adverse health effects of football have also garnered more attention from state governments.
A Personal Story About Neurodegenerative Dementia
The New York State Assembly has been hearing testimony about a proposed bill to ban tackle football for children 12 years and younger. T.J. Abraham is one of those who testified in favor of it. He had been a gynecologist in his adult life, but in his younger days, he played a lot of football in high school and then college.
As time passed, Mr. Abraham found himself forgetting patients’ names, losing his pager and hospital badge and frequently having to look up which antibiotics to prescribe. He also faces the anguish of not remembering anything about his daughter’s birth or his own wedding. After ignoring these symptoms of forgetfulness and frustration for a long time, he finally got checked out and was diagnosed with neurodegenerative dementia. He told New York lawmakers that he doesn’t want anyone else to have to go through what he has.
Helping Loved Ones Cope With Dementia
Mr. Abraham’s situation is somewhat unusual in that his dementia came from accumulated sports injuries. In most instances, it is the elderly who suffer the ravages of dementia as it saps precious memories and makes daily tasks increasingly difficult. It can reach a point where these tasks simply become too much, and you, as a son or daughter, have to arrange care for a parent. In either case, it is a true fight against dementia.
A Compassionate Home Care Option for Dementia Sufferers
Home to Stay Health Care Solutions is a non-medical home care company that enables your disabled or elderly loved ones to continue living at home in dignity even after they are no longer fully able to care for themselves. Particularly in the case of dementia, families may need to bring in outside help to keep your elderly or disabled family members safe and comfortable.
At Home to Stay Health Care Solutions, we provide live-in care throughout the Cherry Hill area in Southern New Jersey. Our services include housekeeping chores such as light laundry and meal preparation as well as more personal services such as helping with bathing, dressing and moving your aging parent between their chair or wheelchair and bed as needed.
We are particularly proud of our patent-pending AlzBetter dementia program. It enables us to determine the severity of their dementia, so we can create an appropriate customized plan for your parent that will keep them busy and engaged in their life. If you have a family member who can no longer fully take care of themselves but you want them to stay in their familiar home environment, please call us, and we’ll discuss how we can help them live with dignity through their later years.
