What You Don’t Know About Alzheimer’s Disease

Posted on 08. Apr, 2008 by Karen in Caregiving, Resources

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For years what I knew about Alzheimer’s could fit on the head of a pin.  I didn’t really understand how this disease ravages a brain.  I even remember joking about Alzheimer’s and using the phrase “a little touch of Al” to describe a moment of forgetfulness.  But now with a mother and best friend afflicted with this dreadful degenerative disease, there’s little room to be flip and uninformed.   

I found that you don’t know what you don’t know about Alzheimer’s until you know.  The New York Times article on the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease is one of the best resources I’ve seen recently that can provide a baseline of knowledge about the disease.  Please read this article if you know someone afflicted with Alzheimer’s — or even if you don’t.  You may learn something that will help someone down the road.  And because the incidence of Alzheimer’s will continue to increase as we 78 million Baby Boomers age, that someone just might be you.   

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4 Responses to “What You Don’t Know About Alzheimer’s Disease”

  1. msmeta

    08. Apr, 2008

    Karen, I was up until the wee hours of the morning, almost transfixed by a program I stumbled across on the Sundance Channel, “Dying at Grace,” about end-of-life care in a Toronto hospital run by the Salvation Army. It was incredibly beautiful and absolutely unflinching. The care these patients received was incredibly tender, regardless of their religious beliefs. Would that we all could die in such a nurturing environment. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in end-of-life issues.

  2. Karen

    09. Apr, 2008

    Msmeta–thanks for the heads up on this program. I remember the nurturing environment we tried to create when my dad died. We worked with hospice and they were wonderful through a very difficult 4 days. The real issue is that we’re not always given advance notice of when end-of-life situations will occur so watching this movie now gives us all a little head ups on the options for a graceful transition.

  3. Margaret

    09. Apr, 2008

    Thank you for this incrediblly informative link, Karen. And I will keep an eye out for that show on the Sundance Channel.

    - Margaret

  4. Karen

    09. Apr, 2008

    You’re so welcome Margaret. I’m watching for that program too. I’ll see if I can find more about it and post here. Karen

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