星空传媒

TORONTO -- Former Conservative MP Lisa Raitt is speaking out about the violence she and her children face as her husband struggles with early onset Alzheimer鈥檚 during a pandemic that has blocked a normal course of treatment.

In a radio interview with on Thursday, Raitt said that her husband Bruce Wood, 61, wakes up frequently throughout the night, wandering the house muttering and cursing. His 鈥渢hroes of behavioural, psychological symptoms鈥� happen every day, all day. He calls her 鈥渕ommy鈥� now. She can鈥檛 work until he鈥檚 sleeping or has a hired caregiver with him, which is only about five hours a day.

The situation has been turning violent more and more. This summer, he shoved one of her sons. Last week, he punched Raitt.

鈥淚 know it鈥檚 uncomfortable for people to hear but it鈥檚 a reality,鈥� she told host Evan Solomon.

鈥淭his is where we always tell each other it鈥檚 the disease, not the person.鈥�

Raitt and her sons have had to implement safety precautions inside their home. They hide knives and other potential weapons. They installed locks on the doors of several rooms in case they need to retreat to one. They make sure their cell phones have a sufficient charge at all times. They set up video cameras throughout the house so they know where he is if they need to leave.

鈥淏ut the biggest precaution is getting in touch with your doctor and making sure that there are medications that can help and not being ashamed of asking for that help in that way,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what has been the last six to eight weeks of our lives right now.鈥�

鈥業鈥橫 OUT OF MY LEAGUE鈥�

The COVID-19 pandemic means the typical course of treatment for someone like her husband isn鈥檛 possible. Normally, he might be in a hospital and they鈥檇 more easily be able to 鈥渇ind the right cocktail of drugs鈥� so that he could be 鈥渢he normal Bruce that I knew.鈥�

鈥淏ut what we have now is a situation where I'm getting Telehealth prompting and coaching,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 the nurse that鈥檚 charting all of the reactions and the treatments. I鈥檓 out of my league.鈥�

Raitt has been looking for a long-term care facility that can take her husband on, but with COVID-19, it鈥檚 more challenging. Plus, a home is unlikely to take him until 鈥渉is moods and his aggressions even out,鈥� she said, so there鈥檚 no other option but their own house. 鈥淭he option of him being hospitalized in a psychiatric ward isn't there for me because of COVID,鈥� she said.

Earlier this month, Raitt posted a about the difficulties, including a video of Bruce pacing their bedroom, babbling and cursing. She feels a need to speak out about it, she said. On Thursday, she told Solomon that ever since her husband鈥檚 diagnosis, she knew she鈥檇 share the story in an eventual memoir, but realized that she shouldn鈥檛 wait. Why not share now when it can have an impact on other people鈥檚 lives and 鈥渕ove the narrative鈥� forward on young-onset Alzheimer鈥檚.

PRESSURE ON CAREGIVERS

Part of what has motivated her is the stigma around admitting that caregivers struggle too. After the diagnosis, the focus is 鈥渁ll about the dignity of the person with the disease,鈥� she said. The focus is on trying treatments, helping them live their best life and being 鈥済ung-ho about wanting to find a cure.鈥�

鈥淎nd then at some point it flips over and the the amount of pressure that is at play is really on the caregiver,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here is a point in time when a story isn't about the person who's suffering from Alzheimer's, but the story is also about the caregiver around.鈥�

A out of Australia, found that 94 per cent of dementia caregivers were sleep deprived, a condition that can lead to worsening health effects and can make a caregiver more likely to seek space in long-term care for their loved one. 

鈥淓nabling people living with dementia [of which Alzheimer鈥檚 is a common cause] to stay at home, rather than transfer to long-term care is the optimal outcome for many families, but this can鈥檛 be at the detriment of the caregiver鈥檚 own wellbeing,鈥� said Aisling Smyth, a co-author of the study out of New Edith Cowan University, in a news release. 鈥淭herefore, to support the person living with dementia to remain at home, preserving sleep and maintaining caregiver health is vital.鈥�

For Raitt, one of the best ways to try to preserve caregiver health is through speaking about it. 鈥淭alking about it is good,鈥� she told Solomon. 鈥淚t acknowledges that there is a real issue that either I can be inactive and ignore or I can be active and deal.鈥�

And sharing the intimate details of her family鈥檚 personal battle with the disease might help bring more attention to Alzheimer鈥檚 research or shine a light on the breadth of suffering. 

鈥淭here are a lot of families out there suffering through exactly the same thing,鈥� she said.