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DADDY ’ S GIRL ( Above ) Cindy Schweich Handler and her father , Hank Schweich , celebrating the holiday season ; ( inset ) Cindy and her father at her wedding to Harry Handler on Sept . 27 , 1986 .
of 65 years for everything from shaving toplumping his pillows atnight , his helplessness exacerbated his lifelong tendency toward impatience .
He became terrified when , on trips to Whole Foods and CVS , my mother drifted out of his sightlines for amoment . Crowds agitated him , and attempts at walks in the park and the art museum fizzled before they even started . He fought any change inroutine — sometimes physically , aswhen my mother tried to hire aburly health care aide to help him shower .
Perhaps this combativeness was due to changes in his brain chemistry , or because his neurological deficits made it hard for him to recognize that he was impaired . Researchers speculate that the degraded memories of some people with AD make ithard for them to update their self-image , sotheir sense of their own capabilities stays frozen in time .
Forwhatever reason , his restlessness worsened along with his frailty , and a year before hedied , he did aface-plant in my parents ’ carpeted bedroom and broke his collarbone . The fall precipitated ahospital stay and , because my dad could no longer stand unassisted , a subsequent move to memory care .
My mother chose afacility with a home-like setup where residents are
@ 201magazine ( 201 ) HEALTH 2024 EDITION
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