Destiny....dementia?
I'm somewhat of a geek, as I routinely watch TED talks. I found this TED talk to be particularly interesting as Alanna Shaikh talks about preparing to get Alzheimer's. Dementia kinda runs in our family - clearly Mom, but perhaps her mom - family members do recall her repeating herself, but no real clear signs of dementia. Trust me, every person who is a caregiver of a loved one with dementia, has some fear that they will get it too. So often with the primary caregiver these thoughts are pushed down or aside, but they are there.
For this long-distance somewhat hypochondriac caregiver, after a week of working 70 hours, and not having uninterrupted sleep, I worry when I go to write July and I'm writing March or make some other silly error. These are the non-hypochondriac early symptoms: memory loss that disrupts daily life, challenges in planning or solving problems, difficulty in completing familiar tasks at home, work or at leisure, confusion with time or place, trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships, new problems with words in speaking or writing, misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps, decreased or poor judgment, withdrawal from work or social activities, changes in mood or personality.
Phew - not me :)
The three things that Shaikh suggests to do to prepare are things I am already doing. She suggests:
1. Change what do for fun
2. Build physical strength
3. Become better person
For me there is a fourth, have no regrets. If dementia ends up being my destiny, I want to have lived a full life. Completed my bucket list, made real lasting positive impact in the world, to have loved deeply. I want the people in my life to know how much I love them, how much they mean to me.
Luckily for us, Mom is still able to convey how much she loves us. In fact, I think she's more cheesy than she was prior to dementia. If dementia ends up being either Voyageur's or my destiny, I hope we end up just as cheesy.
Back at ya Voyageur - dawg put some words down already :)
For this long-distance somewhat hypochondriac caregiver, after a week of working 70 hours, and not having uninterrupted sleep, I worry when I go to write July and I'm writing March or make some other silly error. These are the non-hypochondriac early symptoms: memory loss that disrupts daily life, challenges in planning or solving problems, difficulty in completing familiar tasks at home, work or at leisure, confusion with time or place, trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships, new problems with words in speaking or writing, misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps, decreased or poor judgment, withdrawal from work or social activities, changes in mood or personality.
Phew - not me :)
The three things that Shaikh suggests to do to prepare are things I am already doing. She suggests:
1. Change what do for fun
2. Build physical strength
3. Become better person
For me there is a fourth, have no regrets. If dementia ends up being my destiny, I want to have lived a full life. Completed my bucket list, made real lasting positive impact in the world, to have loved deeply. I want the people in my life to know how much I love them, how much they mean to me.
Luckily for us, Mom is still able to convey how much she loves us. In fact, I think she's more cheesy than she was prior to dementia. If dementia ends up being either Voyageur's or my destiny, I hope we end up just as cheesy.
Back at ya Voyageur - dawg put some words down already :)