Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s during the COVID-19 pandemic

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A family in Colorado Springs is experiencing the separation from a loved one living in a care center. Because of COVID-19, it has now been 45 days since Randy Rush last saw his wife, Tami, in person.

Now, he fears he may never see her again.

Tami Rush is a wife, mother, and M&M fanatic -- but dementia is taking that away from her. She was diagnosed with early onset dementia at 49 years old, and 10 years later, she needs 24-hour care.

"Tami is in hospice care, she is in a wheelchair, has to be fed, can't talk, can't say words, and doesn't interact with the things going on around her," Randy said.

Tami's memories are slowly disappearing, but her husband Randy had been showing up for her every day until the pandemic changed things.

"The plans we had done, the things we were doing are simply gone now because I can't even see her. We do Facetime but she doesn't get the technology, she can't recognize, she won't even look at the phone, but at least it's a connection," he said.

She no longer remembers him and may not even realize he hasn't been able to see her for the last month and a half, but for Randy, it's been hard, living a few feet away.

"The plan was really going real well, I could walk over to Mackenzie's Place in two minutes, I could help feed her, be with her, be a part of the events and now I'm right next to her and can't see her," he said.

Just in the last few days he's seen a change.

"Her health is declining, is it because we're not there? I don't know," he said.

With the governor's plan to protect those most at risk, there is no timeline on when Randy and Tami will be together.

"I don't know if I will see Tami again. I'm expecting it though," Randy said.

But if there's one thing families with loved ones fighting dementia have is the ability to adapt to a "new normal."

The Alzheimer's Association Colorado Chapter offers several resources on how to stay connected despite the lockdown of these facilities.

For more information, visit their website.