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By STEVE KORNACKI
The Tampa Tribune
ST. PETERSBURG - Donald and Leila Pouttu lived together in a Coffee Pot Bayou neighborhood, spending most of their time alone in their house at 234 36th Ave. NE.
Leila Pouttu, 77, suffered from Alzheimer’s disease and her husband was devoted to caring for her.
‘’He was always there for her, always,’’ neighbor, Linda Hightower, told NewsChannel 8. ‘’He never left the house other than to ride his bike around and go swimming every morning.’’
They died together in that house Thursday morning. Firefighters came to the residence to put out a blaze and discover their bodies. St. Petersburg police detectives said both Leila and Donald Pouttu, 78, sustained gunshot wounds from a 9mm semi automatic handgun found at the scene.
‘’I think he was tired of having to take care of her,’’ Hightower said, ‘’but not like that…I can’t believe that this happened.
‘’I just wondered why they never talked to anybody or he never talked to anybody. We never saw anything that indicated this was happening.’’
Police spokesman George L. Kajtsa said the Pouttus had no local relatives and no children. He had a brother in Paris, France, and both were retired. Hightower said they lived in the house for at least 29 years.
Leila and Donald Pouttu
Detectives are investigating the deaths and the fire.
Chuck Albrecht, vice president of the Alzheimer’s Association Gulf Coast chapter in Pinellas County, said the frustration of being alone and caring for Alzheimer’s patients is stressful.
“”I can’t imagine anything worse than being in that situation,’’ Albrecht said. “”That person is slipping away and you stay by that person … basically you’re living two lives.’’
Often, it is the caregiver whose health will suffer as they are overcome by the burden and begin to neglect themselves, he said.
The patients must be under constant watch for fear that they will harm themselves or simply wander off and get lost, a common occurrence.
“”That’s a lot to ask a person to do,’’ he said.
The Alzheimer’s Association has a variety of ways to help, Albrecht said, from finding support groups for caregivers to giving them a good night’s sleep by sending someone to fill in for a day.
“”If we had been able to get in touch with this person we could have helped him,’’ he said.
Caregivers, family members or even concerned neighbors can get help for someone by calling the Alzheimer’s Association at (727) 578-2558 in Pinellas, or toll free at 1-800-772- 8672. The association covers 17 counties in Florida with an estimated 177,000 Alzheimer’s cases. Nationally, 1 in 67 people have the disease; in Florida, it’s 1 in 38, Albrecht said.
Reporter Steve Kornacki can be reached at (813) 731-8170 or skornacki@tampatrib.com. Tribune editor Steven Girardi and NewsChannel 8 reporter Rod Challenger contributed to this report.
God bless their souls. May they both rest in piece.
How sad, the toll Alzheimer’s takes on the family, as well as the victim of this most frightening disease. No one knows how they will handle this until it happens close to them.
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Posted by Jenna Knippen, St. Petersburg on 12/28 at 06:33 PM
He swam everyday at the pool I work at, he was one of the best people, I talked to him everytime we crossed paths. He sang to us, told us jokes, just a wonderful person. He just had heart surgery and was sad he was having trouble doing his everyday routines. He had been taking care of his wife for 15 years I really don’t think it had much to do with her condition. I think he just didn’t want something to happen to him and then no one be there to take care of her.