More than a Senior Moment

“My husband is leaving me. [There is no drama]…a few slammed doors and no suitcase in the hall…There is another woman involved [though]. Her name is Dementia.[i]

My husband is stricken with dementia, and it's a trick of his condition that events and people from his past are more real to him than what happened five minutes ago.[ii]

Can I remember exactly when I 'lost' my husband?[iii] Was it the moment when I had to start tying his shoelaces for him? Or when we stopped being able to laugh with each other? Looking back, that turning point is impossible to pinpoint. But then, that's the nature of dementia.[iv]

Dementia is an umbrella term for a set of symptoms including impaired thinking and memory... However, issues other than Alzheimer's can cause dementia. Other common causes of dementia are Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.[v]

Alzheimer’s goes beyond forgetting to pay a bill or losing things every now and then. As the Alzheimer’s Association describes, Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of growing older.[vi]

It impairs memory and intellectual abilities seriously enough to interfere with daily life and it accounts for over half of all dementia cases.

Although it affects people differently, Alzheimer’s does show some early symptoms. Here’s a list of [early] warning signs that may indicate Alzheimer’s disease:

1.  Difficulty remembering things that just happened

2.  Inability to plan or solve problems

3.  Trouble completing familiar tasks

4.  Losing track of dates, seasons and time

5.  Vision problems

6.  Struggling with conversations

7.  Misplacing things

8.  Poor decision-making

9.  Withdrawal from work or social activities

10.             Mood and personality changes[vii]

Alzheimer’s is well on its way to hit epidemic proportions… It’s predicted that when the first wave of baby boomers reach the age of 85 in 2031, more than 3 million people over the age of 85 will have Alzheimer’s…

Although the numbers are shocking, they are not hopeless. As researchers press forward searching for a cure, they encourage people at risk to make positive lifestyle changes to prevent the disease from gaining a foothold:

1. Learn a foreign language. (Adding another language to your vocabulary may delay the onset of Alzheimer’s by four years.)

2. Drink raw fruit and vegetable juices. (Drinking fruit and vegetable juices more than three times a week could cut the risk of developing Alzheimer’s by 76%.)

3. Add a vitamin K supplement to your diet. (It may help prevent Alzheimer’s)

4. Reduce stress. (Many studies have linked anxiety with the development of Alzheimer’s.)

5. Commit to regular exercise (which may preserve Hippocampal volume that is the first part of the brain attacked by Alzheimer’s).

6. Laugh more. (It helps to engage the brain, and ultimately prevent Alzheimer’s.)

7. Run fifteen miles per week (which 15 miles per week may reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s by 40%).

8. Consume more fruits.

9. Make time for meditation.

10. Eat more fish.

11. Quit smoking.

12. Adopt a Mediterranean diet (high in omega-3s that could lower the risk of cognitive decline).

13. Learn early Alzheimer’s signs. (See first half of this post.)

14. Get a better night’s sleep (which can lower stress levels that could lead to Alzheimer’s).

15. Limit sugar intake (as Diabetes can be linked to Alzheimer’s). [viii]

“I often hear people say that a person suffering from Alzheimer's is not the person they knew. I wonder to myself [just] who are they then?[ix]

If you learn to listen for clues as to how I feel instead of what I say, you will be able to understand me much better [as an Alzheimer’s person].[x]

It is important not to assume that people with Alzheimer’s disease have lost understanding or knowledge. It is too easy to think that they do not know simply because they do not communicate. We need to take on the challenge of finding ways to communicate successfully, to try different routes to find common ground.”[xi]

Historian Joyce Appleby, author of question quote

 

 

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[i] Quote by actress Laurie Graham

[ii] Quote by actress Laurie Graham

[iii] For the purpose of this post, I will be using the terms “dementia” and Alzheimer’s” interchangeably.

 

[iv] Quote by Judy Parfitt

[v] The term a “senior moment” refers to a lapse of memory…which is…unusual [for the individual in question who]…may not necessarily be advanced in age (although senior citizens are more likely to experience an occurrence). This is adapted from www.urbandictionary.com.

 

[vi] This post was inspired by the 2014 Netflix documentary, Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me.

[vii] This section of the post is adapted from the article, “10 Early Signs of Alzheimer’s You May Have Missed” by Jennifer Wegerer July 16, 2014

 

[viii]This section of the post is adapted from the article, “15 Resolutions to Reduce Your Dementia Risk in 2015” by Alissa Sauer January 1, 2015

 

[ix] Quote by Bob DeMarco

 

[x] Quote by Mara Botonis

 

[xi] Quote by Trevor Harley, University of Dundee