Alzheimer’s Disease ‘Looks Like Me, It Looks Like You’
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Until last year, Jackie Coleman was a disability rights lawyer — a good one, too. “I was an excellent attorney,” recalled the 63-year-old Rancho Cordova, Calif., resident who loved her job and was proud of the work she did. But a little over a year ago, she started to forget appointments and details…
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My mother died from Dementia with Lewy Bodies. in the late phases several hospitals insisted it was Alzheimers and treated her with something that her shrieking in terror for most of the day because of the hallucinations. Alzheimer’s is not a generic term for dementia.
Took her nearly 15 years to die. This is why I try to ride my Harley as much as possible.
My mother passed away a few years back but for the last 6 or 7 years of her life she had Alzheimers. At least for the last 5 years before her death she did not know who I was. I was fortunate in a way because I had been doing research on elder abuse with a group of gerontologists and much of the research crossed into the area of dementia and Alzheimer’s so I at least understood it. I spent a good bit of time trying to explain it to my family some of whom never understood it. It is extremely frustrating and heartbreaking. The person afflicted suddenly becomes another person. When Justice Sandra Day O’Conner’s husband was struck down with it and he totally forgot who she was and wanted to marry another woman at the nursing home where he was staying I think it really struck home with a lot of people.
This is the only thing that scares me shitless that I will get. I would be okay with my body breaking down as I age but this, my mind, I don’t think I could deal. It’s one of the things hubby and I talked of often. If ever I were to get a diagnosis of a mind breakdown like this, I would be first in line the very next day to get the medication to die with dignity at the time of my choosing, provided they would dole it out to someone suffering from a disease that affects the mind.
I’m scared of this one as well. It’s just so insidious and creates a tremendous burden on family. I’m of an age where I worry about every little forgotten memory, and various odd things that happen to the mind as one gets older.
My best friend from when I was growing up is in the last stages. He was less than 65 when it was diagnosed. I just wanted to point out that at least a third of what is diagnosed as Alzheimer’s is Lewy Body Disease and there are others, like vascular dementia, Parkinson’s and Kreutzfeld-Jakov which are more common than people know. Correct diagnosis is often delayed and sometime’s tragically since treatment for one can be lethal to other patients.
It’s horrible to watch people die from these things and it can take a long time.
A good friend of mine suffered from Alzheimer’s for a couple of years before passing away.
His favorite saying was “The good thing about Alzheimer’s is you make new friends every day”
Bloody awful thing. Wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.
Horrible disease.