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<\/p>\nCoverage of aging is supported in part by AARP Arizona<\/p>\n
Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter once said there are four kinds of people in the world: \u201cthose who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers. <\/p>\n
But there really might be five: caregivers who help other caregivers. <\/p>\n
A day in the life<\/b><\/p>\n
Bud Addison is sitting at the kitchen table in his West Phoenix home. Bud is flipping through a workbook filled with word searches.<\/p>\n
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Bud Addison enjoys working on his word searches.<\/p>\n
Bud has Alzheimer\u2019s disease. Next to him is Emily Jane Crawford, a pre-med student at Arizona State University.<\/p>\n
Crawford is part of a new collaboration between Hospice of the Valley and ASU called RISE, as in Respite in Student Engagement.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a paid gig for Crawford \u2014 at $20 an hour \u2014 and a life-saver for Mary Addison, Bud\u2019s wife of 30 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very hard because you have a person that, you know, what your husband’s supposed to be like and he is deteriorating quite fast,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
And Mary needs help. For Bud, Alzheimer\u2019s is more than just memory loss. It affects nearly every part of his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s hard for me to get him to eat regular food. He loves ice cream, so he can go through four-and-a-half gallons of ice cream and three loves bread a week, and he can’t drive,” she said. <\/p>\n
![\"Emily](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776259644_486_.jpeg\"\/)
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Emily Jane Crawford and Bud Addison at the kitchen table in his west Phoenix home. The pair are working on a word search.<\/p>\n
Evenings can be especially heartbreaking. Bud will tell Mary he wants to go back to his childhood home. <\/p>\n
\u201cHis mother’s passed away, his father’s passed away and his brother’s passed away \u2014 and he doesn’t quite understand that,\u201d she says, sadly. \u201cIt’s like, \u2018I want to go home; my mom’s there, they’re gonna come and get me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Mary wants to keep Bud home as long as possible. But she also needs a break.<\/p>\n
\u201cI find myself sometimes getting \u2014 I want to say, \u2018I don’t like you anymore,\u2019 because that’s, you know. He just runs me into the ground sometimes,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Caregiver stress<\/b><\/p>\n
Dr. Gillian Hamilton is the medical director of Hospice of the Valley\u2019s supportive care for dementia program.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe put it very well,\u201d says Hamilton referring to Mary\u2019s earlier comment about her husband running her into the ground.<\/p>\n
RISE is Hamilton\u2019s brainchild.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think you know the data: that caregivers often die before the person living with dementia due to the incredible stress of that task,” Hamilton said. <\/p>\n
And family and friends often fall away, leaving that caregiver mostly on their own.<\/p>\n
So a program like this one is filling a much needed gap: caregivers are getting respite and students are getting real-life dementia experience.<\/p>\n
Matchmaker, matchmaker make me a match<\/b><\/p>\n
Nour Hassan is Hamilton\u2019s student and the RISE student coordinator. Her job is, in part, to play matchmaker.<\/p>\n
\u201cRight now,\u201d I think we’re at 31 official matches between families and students,\u201d says Hassan.<\/p>\n
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