My FIL has Alzheimer's and it's been progressing for 10 years. My MIL is 81 and he's 84. She takes care of him in Phoenix and refuses to get help or think of a nursing home. To be perfectly honest, it's a nightmare for her but she's a trooper.
He was a football coach/history teacher in Iowa for 45 years and he was also in WWII. We've watched him go from repeating himself, to thinking he was a teacher, to thinking he was back in the war, and now he's at the point where he calls out for his parents who both died when he was 11 years old.
I was a nurse in an Alzheimer's unit in Colorado for a couple of years (about 15 years ago), and to be honest.. and I know this sounds bad, but I wish my MIL would put him in a place like that where he can be watched and cared for 24/7. She is so stressed in dealing with his constant questions over and over and his confusion and care giving. She is miserable but she is hell bent on keeping him home- and to be honest he doesn't even know where he is most of the time.
It's sad and frustrating, but the thing is- they can live for years with that disease because they are basically stress free. They have no bother in the world and if they are in good physical shape, they have absolutely no stress at all. Alzheimer patients are in fact, pretty happy for the most part. They have no clue they are sick and they don't have a care in the world- but they need attention like a toddler eventually. Sorry you're going through it.