Wandering common in Alzheimer’s patients

It’s rare when a missing person with Alzheimer’s disease who was lost for days is found in good health, but Margaret Gallaway’s story has a happy ending.

It turns out several things worked in her favor. The fact that she was in a secure location is one of them. Many wandering Alzheimer’s patients get lost in wooded areas or fall into water. Gallaway was inside a neighbor’s garage for more than a week.

Lee Health’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Iahn Gonsenhauser has a background in dementia research.

“It’s a miraculous story that this was an event that didn’t have a worse outcome. Certainly, you know, people are much more robust than we generally think about. You can go a relatively long time without food or water, but our older population is more at risk for bad outcomes,” Gonsenhauser said.

Another factor is that Gallaway was in otherwise good health. Having Alzheimer’s impacts the brain, not the body. “Without other comorbid conditions, people [with] Alzheimer’s disease can have a relatively healthy physical body,” said Gonsenhauser.

On some level, the Alzheimer’s that limited her awareness may have kept Gallaway calm even while loved ones were urgently searching for her.

“Generally speaking, when individuals are wandering as a result of dementia, they’re not panicked, and they are quite calm,” said Gosenhauser, “and oftentimes, they even have a story that they can manufacture or communication that they can come up with to tell people around them that even seems like it makes a bit of sense.”

He said wandering is extremely common with people who have dementia. One in six people with Alzheimer’s or a related condition have at least one incidence of wandering.

“In many cases, individuals who are wandering are looking for something in their mind,” said Dr. Gonsenhauser. “They may be looking to go to work, even though they haven’t worked in decades. They may be looking to get home, even though they’re at home.”

These patients also don’t realize they are leaving a safe, secure space when they wander away.

The Florida Gulf Coast chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association has a 24/7 hotline at 800-272-3900.

If you have questions or need support, their website is Florida Gulf Coast Chapter (alz.org).