DUBLIN, Ga. — In 2017, The National Institutes of Health said 6 million Americans would be battling Alzheimer's disease, and that includes our men and women who serve in the armed forces.
13WMAZ went to the Carl Vinson VA to learn how they hope a new wing will help veterans battling the deadly disease.
Betty Douglas, the wife of United States Army veteran Robert Bruce, says over the summer their life changed forever after Bruce fell.
"We first went into wing 19, which is the restorative wing, and he had a cardiac arrest while there," Douglas said.
Eventually, the former helicopter pilot got moved to wing 10 for veterans coping with dementia.
"It is a very new experience and a hard thing to deal with at first. You don't know," Douglas said.
She says they take things day by day, learning about a disease that the National Institutes of Health says causes toxic changes to the brain.
"It's just a learning [experience]. Every day is different, not one day is the same," Douglas said.
Things are going to get a little easier for Douglas because of an expanded wing dubbed the 'Ole' Timers Lodge.'
It cost the VA $8.5 million dollars while adding 14 beds to the wing, giving veterans their privacy while they are battling dementia.
Larissa Anderson, the manager nurse of the Memory Care Unit, says they covered every detail.
"This is the residents' living room, as you can see it looks homey. That is another effort we are trying to implement with cultural transformation, to have a more home-like environment," Anderson said.
From locked doors, colorful bedrooms, a café for vets, and a new disability-friendly bathtub.
"The thinking behind the tub was to get residents to relax. This should be a place where they can relax whenever they take a bath," Anderson said.
With these new amenities, Douglas is already making plans to make sure her husband stays comfortable.
"I want to be able to bring more memorabilia and put it on the walls [to] make it more like home," Douglas said.
The Ole Timer Lodge officially opens Monday, March 18, and they will be hosting a ribbon cutting starting at 10 a.m.
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