Pierce is a long-time National Board
Member of the Alzheimer’s Association.
He has testified before Congress,
lobbying for funding for research and
medical care, and recently hosted the
eighth annual National Alzheimer’s Gala
in Washington, DC.
Editor-in-Chief Gary Barg talks with
David about his role as a family
caregiver for his father and
grandfather, and his role as an advocate
for progress toward new treatments for
Alzheimer’s disease.
Gary Barg:
As a Board Member of the Alzheimer’s
Association, you must have a good
understanding of the progress being
made to help people with Alzheimer’s
and their caregivers. Do you think
we’re any closer to finding a cure?
David Hyde Pierce:
We’re always closer to getting a
cure, but we’re still not close
enough. The researchers have been
working tirelessly, and we have some
of the best people in the scientific
world focused on this disease
because it is such an enigma and
such a tragedy on so many different
levels. People for humanitarian
reasons, for economic reasons, for
all sorts of reasons, want to find a
way to slow this disease down. In
fact, even more than a cure, if we
could just find a way to slow it
down so that people do what they
used to do a hundred years ago,
which is, for the most part, pass
away before it ever became a
problem.
GB: Do the
drugs on the market today really
help slow down the progression?
DHP:
Absolutely. The drugs that are
available now affect every
individual differently; some people
respond more to one than others, and
other people respond better to a
combination of drugs. There are more
drugs certainly in the pipeline to
help mainly with the symptoms,
allowing more time for people to
plan, to be with their families, and
to be as independent for as long as
possible.
GB: What
would you say are the special issues
in being a caregiver of someone
living with Alzheimer’s disease?
DHP: Any
time you are caring for a loved one,
it’s difficult; especially if you
are caring for a loved one with a
terminal illness. But there is
something so torturous about what
Alzheimer’s disease puts caregivers
through. My grandfather had it, and
my dad probably had it, although he
had stroke-induced dementia at
first, but it likely became
Alzheimer’s toward the end. In both
cases, my grandmother who was my
grandfather’s caregiver, and my
mother who was my father’s
caregiver, both predeceased their
spouses.
My grandmother died of a stroke
and there’s just no question that
the emotional stress plus the
physical stress of dealing with my
grandfather—seeing his decline, and
dealing with the round-the-clock
supervision he required—I’m sure it
ended her life long before she would
have died otherwise.
GB: So
often each caregiver thinks that
they are the only one who can take
care of their loved one.
DHP:
That’s that whole concept of the
airline motif, where you put on your
oxygen mask first before you help
someone else who needs it. If you
are not taking care of yourself, how
will you be able to take care of the
person you love? Ultimately,
you do both of yourselves a
disservice.
GB: Taking
care of yourself first could be our
motto at Today’s Caregiver, but
there seems to be an added guilt
factor when caring for someone
living with Alzheimer’s.
David Hyde Pierce is an award-winning
veteran actor of stage and screen who is
best known for playing psychiatrist Dr.
Niles Crane in the long-running NBC
comedy hit Frasier. With a career
that spans more than 20 years, Pierce
has accumulated an array of credits that
includes roles in the films Down with
Love, Treasure Planet, Full Frontal and
Sleepless in Seattle. He has played
roles in numerous television shows and
in many Broadway and off- Broadway
productions.