the anniversary

THE ANNIVERSARY

its that anniversary time
its been 3 years since i was diagnosed
and
had to discontinue practice

it was a few weeks earlier than that i knew that the
time was coming
when i had my testing done and got that phone call that
i needed to see a neurologist
teach me to volunteer to be in that normal control group
of the alzheimers disease neuroimaging initiative study

it was a life changer
volunteering for that study and getting blindsided by my
diagnosis
early mild cognitive impairment amnestic type
thats probably due to alzheimers disease

wonder what i would be doing if i had not decided to
volunteer for that study

well i probably would be officially retiring about now
which was the date i had planned a few years ago

i wonder if i had continued to practice if i would have
had problems
i think i would
not routine stuff but as things got hectic eg like in
after hours clinic when you are real busy and have
to keep up with several sick persons at one time
i wonder i would have had problems doing it
i think so based on what i have noticed personally with
some memory issues that probably no one else notices

my most read blog ive written was this one
written at that time
last day-thanks
and the ones that follow that one for a few days

like a bullet that hits a metal object and careens off in
another direction
thats what happened to my life that day

so for the last three years i have stayed busy
being involved with the alzheimers association
talking about alzheimers disease to anyone who will listen
telling people what they can do to slow down the chances
of getting this disease

since all this has happened ive watched my younger brother
deteriorate and die from this terrible disease
alzheimers disease

a real sobering event for me as he was the mirror i looked in
as i know that im somewhere behind him

i have given several talks telling my story with possible alzheimers
disease letting people know how i was accidentally diagnosed
what medications are used in this disease
remember none of them stops or treats the disease
what research stuff is going on and what treatments are on
the horizon and what they can do themselves to maybe
prevent the disease or really slow it down

i am still taking aricept (donepezil) that slows down symptoms
but again not the disease
i control my blood pressure cholesterol weight diet and stay
active mentally and physically

i volunteer at habitat for humanity building houses and do
most of the landscaping now for the houses
something that was mostly ignored in the past

i also run a 30 mile meals on wheels route each week

i also do a lot of gardening here at the country n
and try to encourage as many people as possible
to do their own organic gardens

i do this blog almost every day monday through friday
about these things above and other things that interest me

one goal is to write down whats happening inside my brain
as this disease progresses and takes off
this has not been done much in the past as people werent being
diagnosed until things were much worse
and doing writing for a blog like this would not be possible

my disease hasnt progressed much in the last three years
but it has progressed in ways i notice but others probably
dont notice but its there if they are real observant

the disease starts slow real slow then picks up speed
everyones speed is different
and the degree of destruction along the way is different also

i read blogs and am contact with others who are early like i am
except they are farther down the journey than i am
they are excellent writers and are able to put their thoughts
down in an eloquent way

i hope to do as well as long as possible

so its my anniversary
my 3rd one
the slope for now appears to be a slow one
thats ok with me since i have a lot i want to do

follow me along this slope

the organicgreen doctor