Dealing with the dementia/Alzheimer's decline presents a steep curve at times. This is especially true if you've not experienced these conditions before. As with almost any debilitating disease, there's often a period of denial that exists when these conditions become apparent. I remember hearing a friend discuss these illnesses years ago thinking that won't happen to my family, and then it did.
At first, you question a lot. Did that just happen? Am I imagining this change? And then as patterns of changed behavior occur, you realize that you're noticing signs of cognitive decline. When that happens, the next step is to find out what you can do to mitigate the decline as well as change the environment to accommodate the new needs related to the illness. From then on it's a progressive situation. As the decline continues, you learn more and more about how to deal with it. With each new behavior, need, or challenge, there's initial shock and then the desire to figure out how to deal best with that behavior. Fortunately there's a lot of good information readily available on the Internet to support your search. And you'll find yourself engaged in a fair amount of trial-and-error as you try out various actions, tools, experts, and supports--some will work and others won't work.
From what I've learned so far, I can say that it's best to create a team of caretakers including your loved one's physicians, friends, family members, and others who are interested and/or experienced. Not everyone will be interested in joining that team, so it's best to team with those that are eager and willing. There are expert agencies available to help, and their expertise will be invaluable to you as a caregiver.
For me and I believe most of us, what works best is a good weekly routine that ensures your loved ones have their essential health and social needs met. I also like to have a few goals in place--caregiving efforts that I strive for. For example, I've been reading a lot about how to provide personal care in loving, caring, effective ways--as with all things, there's actually a lot to learn about how to lovingly provide these services. The literature helps you to understand what's happening in your loved one's brain as well which helps you to build empathy, compassion, and greater love and care. That's good.
The dementia and Alzheimer's road is often a long one, and it's a road with many surprises and lots of new information too since we are still learning a lot about these illnesses. Onward.