Today my Mom... sister... 2 nieces... and I
cleaned up my mother's room to get it ready for my Dad's return.
We also gathered the recycling and garbage to take to the dumps. (where I live trash removal services are never reliable so we belong to a private "dump" grounds. On Tuesdays and Saturdays we take our garbage there.)
I and my niece drove together....
I said...
"when we get back I have to help your mom move that (in brain)think think think...thing"
she...
"What thing?"
me...
(in brain) closet.... chest... dresser... c.s.lewis... the lion... witch .... wardrobe
Because I have been more acutely aware of what happens in my brain lately
I followed myself closely as I tried to connect with
the memory
of the word
"wardrobe"
it's crazy ... but I actually had to think through C.S. Lewis to get there.
which reminds me of the point I was trying to make
in the last post
about the way my dad remembers
which then in turn
reminds me
of myself
and the possibility that I have this disease...
Okay. Here is a test to see if you are all actually reading my blog.
I have a question which I would like you to answer through comments.
There is a new test (something like a spinal tap)
which can tell whether you have
a possibility of obtaining Alzheimer's
It can't tell if you have it... or if you will have it
but it can tell if you won't
and if it is possible that you "might"
I have been thinking about taking it.
The pro would be the ability to closely monitor it and the possibility of beginning drug therapy
before the signs of it occur
The con
Knowing it is possible you may end up with it
What do you think?
when i went for my first mammography, they refused to do it, said i was too young. BUT, they added, you should take this fabulous genetic test. it says whether you will have breast cancer or not. "in america..." (they said it the way only french people can say it. it means everything and nothing at the same time)... in america, you can take this test, and then, if it's positive, you can even get your breasts removed *before* it happens! fabulous ha?...
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i stayed there, mouth open, puzzled.
...
and then i left. never tried to get another mammography since then.
So I have this friend Cameron. Cameron is blessed with two parents with Schizophrenia(?). For most of his life his parents have been in asylums and for most of his life he's been monitored by doctors because Schizophrenia can be genetically transmitted.
ReplyDeleteHe says that he's spent most of his life analyzing his behaviour. Until he was in his 40s he says that this pretty much drove him crazy genetics notwithstanding. Why did he do something? Was it 'normal', or was he finally on that slippery slope? He said that when he was about 45 he trained himself not to worry and feels a lot better as a result.
So I think taking that test is not a clever plan. Lots of people get Alzheimers and lots don't. Don't drive yourself crazy worrying about whether THIS IS IT or not.
Turns out that my mom may not have Alzheimers at all. Her brain is literally shorting out. She has had lots and lots of mini-strokes and each time she has one of them, a little teeny bit of her brain dies.
Medical people call these things 'events'. No kidding. When the doctor told me that my mom had had a significant number of 'events' over the past few years, I had no idea what she meant. BAke sales?
This explains why in some ways she can function quite well - knows how to put on clothes, remembers her immediate family, knows where she lives, still reads books with pleasure - and in some ways she's completely helpless. She is anxious all the time and needs reassurance literally all day. We can have the same conversation 27 times (I've counted)and 27 times I've reassured her and she's still nervous because it's all gone in two minutes.
The thought of having such 'events' makes me want to scream with terror.
I'd say you know about as much now as you would if you went for it and ended up with "you might". So, if I understand it correctly, you can either get good news or no news at all. Right?
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