alzheimers news-from the mouth of those affected

ALZHEIMERS NEWS-FROM THE MOUTH OF THOSE AFFECTED

last weekend we zoomed down to the ucla medical center at santa monica to an early memory conference put on by alzheimers greater los angeles to be on a panel with others who have memory loss
my wife she was invited to be on the panel but she declined
which probably was the right choice

since i am not far along in the disease i can mostly speak for myself
it was obvious that the two folks with memory loss who were on the panel with me were much farther along with the disease
they needed their spouses to help them get through the seminar
they neither were allowed to drive anymore
they both are probably in the mid stages of alzheimers
while i am back in the mild cognitive stage real early on

now
i dont have blinders on
i know that this stuff can take off and go fast
so
im not letting my defenses down
not for a minute

my wife she sat right in the front row
i said
could you please move to the back
why you ask
i knew if she stayed there that when i got to talking and answering questions
that having her right up front would make me cry easier
so
to the back she went

the things that stood out were the two caregivers
how much it the alzheimers disease had affected their lives
turned it upside down

one patient had lived out of state
they had got to the point where they needed to be closer to their kids
so
they uprooted
unloaded a lot of stuff and moved to southern california from the midwest
leaving their friends and home behind
leaving an area that they had made their home for all their lives

now
carless
they are learning to get around in this area
their kids are nearby
he has a good neurologist caring for him
he seems happy
he says i like it here i just dont know anyone

he has what i call a wondering bracelet from the local sheriffs department
if he disappears they can activate the bracelet and track him down
hopefully before something bad happens

you know those grey alerts that come across your phone
the scary ones are the ones where they give the folks license plate number and car descriptions
excuse me they shouldnt be driving most likely

my wife she and i decided to uproot now before we got to that stage
she would have been isolated out at the country n as i would wander around quite happily im sure

we moved while my mind is intact and we are younger
we now have time to get reestablished before things worsen
so far we dont regert doing this

in the conference the caregivers were the standout speakers
they articulated their feelings quite well

for me
i answered the panel  moderators questions as i wrote in last weeks blog
then
folks started asking me a ton of questions
about alzheimers
about clinical trials
about medicines
about how to get workups
it went on and on
finally
as they were running out of time
they asked if i would mind going outside at the break
letting folks come up and ask me questions
that they did
for over an hour i answered their questions as best i could
i think they listened to me
since
i have been there with my familys bouts with the disease
i am a physician
i am in an important treatment study
then
im one of them
i am a patient fighting my battle as best as i can

so far so good

yes we did zoom off the 10 onto the hwy one known as the pacific coast highway
no i didnt cry on the way back
but
i did do a lot of daydreaming and thinking about all this
as we zoomed along the ocean shore back home
a saturday well spent


here is the information on our team for the walk to end alzheimers next month

my team in the santa barbara walk to end alzheimers on saturday november 3rd is called
organicgreendoctor

click the link above and donate and or walk with us

the organicgreen doctor