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Couple’s fight with Alzheimer’s Disease continues
By Denise Dick
Austintown
Barry Claycomb has good days and bad days. On the good days, he and JoAnn, his wife of 51 years, visit the Austintown Senior Center, catch up with friends and run errands.
“On really bad days, we don’t leave the house,” JoAnn, 70, said.
In May 2009, Barry was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. He remains in his Austintown home with JoAnn, his caregiver.
November is Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month and National Family Caregiver’s Month, and this marks the seventh Vindicator article chronicling Barry’s disease and how the couple deals with it.
Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. and more than 5 million Americans are living with it, according to the Alzheimer’s Association website.
There are still days when JoAnn feels comfortable leaving Barry at home alone for short periods. Those days lie somewhere between the good and bad ones.
Barry knows when he’s having a bad day too.
“I feel like I’m drained,” he said. “I don’t want to do anything. I just sit on the couch and watch the TV set.”
Seven years after Barry’s diagnosis he’s still able to carry on conversations and to reason. That he maintains that level of understanding confuses some of the couple’s family and friends.
“They say things like, ‘Was he misdiagnosed?’ or ‘Are you sure he was diagnosed correctly?’” JoAnn said.
He wasn’t.
Sometimes he makes jokes as a defense mechanism.
“If I act like that it’s easier,” Barry said.
People think Barry, 72, is doing so well because they don’t see him on his bad days, JoAnn said.
“The doctor told us it must be because I’m keeping Barry active,” she said.
There’s a lot of misunderstanding about Alzheimer’s, and JoAnn thinks that needs to change.
“Education goes a long way to understanding this,” JoAnn said.
But she believes God is looking out for her and Barry.
How the disease progresses depends on the individual — just because one person becomes nonverbal after a year or two doesn’t mean everyone will decline at that pace.
JoAnn’s just happy she still has him. “I want him to live forever,” she said.
The couple stay active at the senior center. JoAnn enjoys woodworking and Barry chats with other seniors, or plays bingo. They spend part of each summer at a campground near Johnstown, Pa., where Barry grew up. They also enjoy visits with their two great-granddaughters.
But it hasn’t been the easiest of years. After battling breast cancer in 2015, JoAnn had a bout of skin cancer this year.
Her brothers and grandson pitched in to help while JoAnn recuperated.
Before Alzheimer’s, Barry was the couple’s driver. Since he gave up his license, JoAnn has assumed those duties. They both get frustrated.
She doesn’t have a good sense of direction, but she doesn’t mind asking for directions. Barry yells if she misses a turn.
Before Barry was quiet and rarely raised his voice. Alzheimer’s changed that. He used to be a calm and steady person before. It changed that too.
He’s more irritable and quicker to anger.
He knows he’s changed.
It’s stressful for him and he knows it increases JoAnn’s burden too.
They don’t think much about the future. They know the day may come when Barry will need more help than JoAnn can offer on her own. They’ve talked about in-home care and about nursing homes — they’ve even visited some.
For now though, they’re enjoying each other’s company.
They took a train ride — Barry loves them — for their 50th wedding anniversary and JoAnn bought herself a five-stone anniversary ring, one stone for each 10 years of their marriage.
They don’t dwell on what might happen.
“I don’t think about the future,” Barry said. “I don’t look down the road. My favorite saying is ‘One day at a time.’ That’s the way I live.”