its not fair
that im still here and he is gone
we were born almost a year apart
we were really
almost like twins
fraternal twins
we were different but we did a lot together
some of it mischievous
quite mischievous
i wont give you any details
even though the statue of limitations are past
we have the same genetic background
now i know i have the homozygous double apoe 4 genes
im sure he had at least one if not two of them
he probably got two of those late onset alzheimers apoe 4genes
it doesnt seem fair though
that he got it so young in his early 50s
then once diagnosed
it seemed he just had a steady decline
down that final slide that people with alzheimers disease
have
one that once it starts cant be stopped
even in the future when new treatments come along
i doubt that when the slide starts that even this stuff
will work
he died in the last stages of alzheimers in august 2013
at the age of 62
i was 63
i had been diagnosed almost 3 years before he died with
mild cognitive impairment due to alzheimers disease
my memory had started a slow decline during this time
but
for some reason he has stopped that decline
i really thought that today at 68 that i would be where he was
when he was diagnosed
meaning that that decline would have started to begin
for me
it hasnt
my memory is stable
if not better
my health knock on wood seems to be good
why me
why not him
i think i was sort of lucky by accidentally having my memory issues
picked up real early before it was noticed
i had volunteered to be in the adni alzheimers study in the normal group
my early diagnosis made me change my life before symptoms showed up
being aggressive doing all the healthy things that one needs to do
to slow things down
its been shown that early diagnosis does alter that downward trajectgory
so that the decline when it happens gets pushed down the road some
when he was diagnosed it was probably too late to do much intervention
since its being shown that if we are going to stop this disease
it has to happen in folks before they have have symptoms
or
in folks extremely early in the disease process like i am
looking at whats going on in alzheimers research
there will likely be a treatment or treatments in 10 years
that will slow down the disease or stop it in its tracks
i think
what if that stuff had been available 15 years or so ago
for him and my mom
they both might still be with us
as would many of your loved ones
so
get diagnosed early
maximize your health
blood pressure cholesterol weight exercise diabetes sleep mental health issues
stay mentally active
consider supplements
volunteer for a clinical study see clinical trials.gov
youll know where you are with the diagnosis so when its time
for you to get treatment then you will know if you have it or not
his birthday is on april 8th
he would have been 67
he died in hospice on august 8 2013
he is missed by friends and family
especially his wife and kids and grandkids and siblings
we all would like to be able to see his smile again
we need a treatment and cure for this awful awful disease
the organicgreen doctor
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