Mr Fawaz and his family, current experience | India

03 Mar 2022

← All countries

Mr Fawaz is 68 years old and retired 8 years ago from his job as a central government employee. He lives with his wife in a city in North India. The couple live by themselves and are very socially active among their community. Mr Fawaz’s wife looks after him, as he is unable to remember basic things such as whether he has had his meals or taken a bath. He started forgetting and misplacing things almost 2 years ago, but for the past 1.5 years his wife has observed a number of changes in his daily activities. He is having difficulty speaking, swallowing his food, has forgotten the names of his closest friends, and he does not recognize his son or grandkids when they come to visit from the United States (US) for holidays. Mrs Fawaz, 63 years of age, is also a retired government bank employee. She has her own medical issues for which she visits a hospital that provides medical insurance coverage for retired government employees.

On one of her medical check-ups with her general physician, Mrs Fawaz informed her doctor about the stress she is experiencing as a result of looking after her husband. The doctor suggested that she bring her husband in to see his colleague who is a neurologist. The neurologist examines Mr Fawaz and suggests an MRI and a few blood tests, which is covered by the government scheme. At a follow-up appointment , the neurologist reviews the reports and diagnoses Mr Fawaz with Alzheimer’s disease and prescribes a few medications. The neurologist suggests that Mr Fawaz will also require a speech therapist once a week, physiotherapy twice a week and occupational therapy once a week. He also recommends a counselling service for the wife for her anxiety. None of these services are covered by the government scheme and Mrs Fawaz is worried about costs. She has a discussion with her son in the US, who offers to cover the cost of these services and also suggests a private agency that sends home carers for elderly (he found this via the internet). The son pays for the service as well, as it is not covered under any government scheme and is unaffordable to Mr and Mrs Fawaz. Mrs Fawaz is reluctant to hire a full time attender, as she is worried about the lack of privacy and is also unsure about the reliability of the individual. However, as she struggles to provide constant care (12-14 hrs per day) to her husband due to her own health issues, she eventually agrees with her son to hire a full time attender. The attender lives with the family. Mrs Fawaz gets more respite time as a result of the attender, but she is worried initially about having a stranger living with them.