Touching video highlights mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease

Joe Fraley has documented his mother’s illness on his YouTube channel

Megan Townsend
Thursday 10 December 2015 12:58 GMT
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Joe Fraley shows what it’s like to care for a parent with Alzheimer’s

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Touching video has emerged of a mother's struggle with Alzheimer's disease, after her son documented the illness on his YouTube channel.

Joe Fraley, an American musician, has published videos that demonstrate the difficulty in watching a parent suffer from the illness: losing their memories, identity and confidence.

He recently uploaded a video of his mother, Judy, entitled ‘I’m Scared’.

In the video, Judy is visibly frightened when she cannot remember where her husband is: "I don't want anything bad to happen".

Her son assures her that he is in the garage and would be back soon, "Everything's ok, you're safe" he reassures her.

 

I look really weird in this picture, but I was able to get my mom to smile

A photo posted by Joe Fraley (@joefraley) on

Accompanying the video, Joe wrote, "I realize how disturbing this video can be to watch. This was about a year and a half ago when I lived with my parents to help my Dad take care of my mom before she went into a home. She now can no longer talk or walk. I think it’s important to raise awareness of this disease. So I posted it."

Joe Fraley sings to his Mum

In another video, Joe highlights that even with Alziemer's good days are possible, showing footage of him singing to his mother.

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