alzheimers story

ALZHEIMERS STORY
today is a close relatives birthday
ill call him and wish him a happy birthday
he wont remember it though
he has alzheimers and is in the mild-moderate stage
ill call him anyway as its the right thing to do
feel like somewhere inside he will know i called him

ill send him a belated birthday card
its something he can look at maybe more than once
maybe he will know its me

he was diagnosed over 5 years ago
he has gradually progressed in his disease
want to reach him while hes reachable

i want to wish him a happy birthday today

dont forget the caretakers in all of this
they are the one that suffers the most
they are the one that has to take over everything now
the cooking, cleaning, finances, home maintenance and repair,
shopping, going to medical appointments for both, having all the
emotional aspects of the disease to themselves with no partner to
share it with, car maintenance, socializing by themselves if at all

if you know a caretaker be there for them
it can be a long haul for them
any reprieve for them is helpful
it doesnt get better
remember you will be affected by this disease in some way
its too prevalent

if you are a caretaker reach out for help
use friends, churches, local organizations, the internet, and the
alzheimers association website-www.alz.org

the alzheimers website has a good caretakers discussion group
they are lots of people in your shoes out there
it helps to get involved or at least read the postings
there is also information where you can get help
seek it out

dont forget to take care of yourself in all of this

dr oz did a show on alzheimers yesterday
it may be related to diabetes of the brain ie insulin receptors
being affected may be the cause or one of the causes of this
disease
i think it has multi causes and is definitely genetically transmitted
ie the tendency to get it

he preached diet
diet can help but like a lot of this it has to be started when
people are young to have its major effect

where am i with my diagnosis
i am still on aricept 10 mg a day
i have a genetic testing that is pending for the apoe gene which
is the most common one associated with alzheimers
i have an appointment in 10 days to start a new research study
at ut southwestern in dallas
during that study i will have a spinal tap and studies will be done
to test for amyloid protein and tau protein
if abnormal then my diagnosis of alzheimers will be certain

will post all of this when it is completed
probably will be all completed in mid summer

there will be alzheimers walks to raise money for research in october
encourage everyone to get involved
a lot is happening in research now with this disease
novemeber is alzhiemers awareness month

again remember you will be affected by this disease

the organicgrreen doctor