Holiday chaos can bring confusion

Decorations, crowds may spur some seniors with dementia to roam
By CINDY GEORGE
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Warm thoughts of her hometown a week before Thanksgiving prompted Estelle Williams to walk away from her Houston apartment into the chilly night wearing a T-shirt, shorts and slippers.

The 80-year-old Alzheimer's patient got the notion to leave while longing for her childhood home of Livingston, relatives said. Her husband, an elderly man who uses a walker, wasn't fast enough to stop her.

Williams caught rides on city buses, relatives said, and surfaced three days later at a homeless shelter. Employees at the Star of Hope recognized her as the missing elderly woman whose photo had been flashed on the news and called authorities.

For those with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, holiday frenzy and changes in routine can prove disruptive.

According to the Chicago-based Alzheimer's Association, the weeks around Thanksgiving and Christmas bring a 10 percent.....read the whole article

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