Alzheimer's Hotline

Hudson, Wisconsin (population 11,913) is a typical town of the river in the Midwest. Nestled along the St. Croix River, the boundary between Wisconsin and Minnesota, the spans of the historic downtown about six blocks away from the gas station with the second ASG and the Coulee southern edge up rays Art Doyle and pedals, just north of Second and Locust.

Of course, the town has its share of Dairy Queens, KFCs, and Best Western, but it is also a cafe Dibbo's Restaurant & Bar, Idaho Chuck Santa Fe Grill & Cantina, and bike shop Art Doyle said. Trendy boutiques - Abigail Page Antiques, Back to Books, Elan, and many others - to reinforce walkability Hudson and seduce.

Like many other small towns in the Midwest, Hudson is almost entirely white - Caucasians represent 98 percent of the population well educated - 95 percent have at least a high school diploma, and safely on a scale of one to 10, with one being the lowest rate of violent crime Hudson is two. Indeed, over the past eight years, the city recorded only seven killings.

Hudson is the place where Claire and Betty Erickson went to high school, married, raised their four children, and has flourished over the years. Clare was the founder of Erickson Oil / chain of free store. Its 800 employees work at stations scattered around the small towns of Wisconsin to South Dakota.

Perched on a cliff overlooking the sparkling waters of St. Croix, 1003 Crest View Drive Hudson is where Claire and Betty lived for 51 years where they raised their four children. 1003 Crest View Drive is also where Claire has spent nearly a thousand days and nights tenderly care for Betty, slowly sink into the misty darkness of Alzheimer's disease, and, at times during the night March 24, Betty Claire shot to death and turned the gun against him.

Although their children and grandchildren were aware they had become less active in recent months, the Erickson celebrated their 60th anniversary with them in Florida on March 18. During one of their interviews, Claire says to her son, David, he had experienced dizziness for several weeks, and he was "tired" and "tired". What worries David was something else Claire said: "You know, if something ever happens to me, your mother will go into a house because she can not take care of itself. "

David, question, Clare convinced him to let them back to Wisconsin. They started early on the 24th, and arrived in Hudson in mid-evening. The next morning, about 10:30, her husband and their daughter Claire and Betty found lying in his bed, dressed in his pajamas, looking "peaceful".

An act of love? Compassion? Or something worse, much worse? "I have no doubt what he did was for love of us three brothers and sisters," said David Erickson. "I think he was just tired and I knew his situation was not going to do better. "

The experts disagree. Dr. Donna Cohen, professor of aging and mental health disparities at the Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute on Aging has established a program of study at the University of South Florida. Noting that the provision of care is "almost impossible", Cohen believes that helping the stress increases the risk of homicide or suicide. "Murder-suicide," she says, "almost always not an act of love. It is an act of desperation. "Although some consider murder-suicide assisted suicide, Cohen disagrees." It is generally not the same. That suicide and murder. ''

. Claire shares Warning Signs Erickson looked like a plane that is common in murder-suicide among the elderly. As Dr. Cohen notes: "Some older men are trying so hard to keep your head up, do not ask for help with caregiver stress, coping as best they can with their t. depression