She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease about a year ago, and Dustin, 15, of Tulsa has been helping care for her. He’s had a chance to reflect this week while spending time with other children who have to deal with the disease. They range in age from 12 to 18 and have traveled from five states. Their parents or grandparents have Alzheimer’s disease, and they have taken on some of the caregiver duties and often many of the household chores. This week, their main charge is to have fun. “I just feel so good that I don’t have to worry about caring for my dad,” said Bailey Wachholz, 16, whose father was diagnosed in 2009. Bailey, who’s from Brainerd, Minn., goes to elementary schools to teach children about Alzheimer’s. It’s rewarding and helps her cope, she said. She got a full-time job at a small boutique because she knows the family needs to save money for her father’s treatment and eventual stay in a nursing home. But this week she is riding horses, swimming, doing crafts and getting to know other teenagers who can relate to her situation. “I just felt an instant connection with these kids because they’re going through the same thing,” she said. On Wednesday morning, the campers dipped foam brushes in acrylic paint and created landscapes. They set their paintings with blow dryers before lunch and an afternoon of free time for a variety of summer activities. Earlier this week, they played games designed to help them get to know one another, talked about grief and about how they can help their families as they deal with a loved one who has Alzheimer’s disease, said Margaret Love, a counselor for the Alzheimer’s Association, which sponsors the camp. “They’ve been able to release a lot of emotion,” she said. Dustin said he cried on the first day of camp. He was thinking about what his grandmother will go through and how sad it will be to watch. “She’s really fun to be around,” he said during a break from painting a soccer field scene. “The disease is going to be really hard to go through.”
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