Love never dies, it is only forgotten. It can't be tossed aside like a favorite pair of old jeans; it fades away to the deep corners of your soul where it remains untouched and unharmed. It always lived inside of you even though you don't know that it exists.
My hero is my grandma, Fran Bickmore. She is a very upstanding woman with a great laugh and more love than one person could share with the whole world. She loves to visit with people and her favorite thing to do is cross-stitch. The only downfall that lives in her is Alzheimer's Disease.
I have watched a great person slowly deteriorate right in front of my eyes. She took the forgetfulness with ease and grace, mainly just laughing it off. Not fully understanding what was wrong with her or how bad it was going to get. My grandma is still in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's, but we all know that it will get worse.
In my research of Alzheimer's I learned a lot of surprising facts that are also a little worrisome. The main one being that there is no cure. Scientists are spending lots of time and money researching this disease. They have found a few treatments that help slow the deteriorating process, but they are coming close to treatments that will make Alzheimer's more manageable like that of diabetes and asthma. One of the recommended treatments for women is estrogen.
The founder of this disease, Alois Alzheimer, sort of stumbled upon it while doing an autopsy. He noticed that there were many irregular knots and clumps in certain areas of the brain. These knots are known as senile plaques and the clumps are neurofibrillary tangles. Alois came to the conclusion that these plaques were taking over healthy brain tissue that devastated that areas of the brain associated with intellectual functions. The scientists currently believe that the clumps and knots cause the mental deterioration. Luckily the other parts of the brain remain unaffected from deterioration.
Alzheimer's is known as the disease that steals the ability to reason, remember and imagine. There are over four million people that suffer from this disease that can last from three to eighteen years. The sufferers of this disease have lasted an average of eight years. They slowly deteriorate and the causes of death are normally pneumonia and urinary tract infections. Women are the main sufferers of this disease, but it gets one in ten people over the age of 65. The majority of the sufferers do get the disease before they turn 60, but since it starts off with the simple forgetfulness it is not always easy to detect early on. The only 100% sure way to know you have Alzheimer's disease is having an autopsy, although most doctors can give you 90% accuracy without an autopsy.
The stages of Alzheimer's begin with that of simple forgetfulness. This is not everyday forgetfulness that happens to everyone, this forgetfulness is that of a long series forgetting lots of little things. It gradually works its way to a stage that is characterized by greater difficulty in doing things that require planning, decision-making and judgement. I know this was a difficult stage for Fran. A good example of this is when she was getting ready for a two-week trip to Utah for Swiss Days. She would feel so overwhelmed with stuff to do, yet she didn't know exactly what she had to do. Her only way to vent was crying and frustration. A few other examples of difficulty in this stage are working, balancing a checkbook and driving a car. Social withdraw is a big part of this stage. Fran is not always willing to leave the house. She doesn't enjoy being in the public eye. The third stage is being unable to accomplish everyday tasks of feeding yourself, bathing and going to the bathroom. Fran hasn't reached this far yet, luckily. This is when withdraw begins. The sufferers are easily agitated, they display belligerence and they totally deny having an illness. The last stage is when the sufferer becomes bedridden and is unable to recognize themselves or the people around them. This is the hardest part for all of the loved ones to handle. It is hard to understand how the brain could forget how to live.
Since there currently aren't any ways to prevent this disease, you should check your family background and watch for symptoms. Age is the biggest risk factor followed by being a female. Family history of the illness is also a good factor.
I know that I have a very good chance of getting this disease. It runs in my family and I am a female. But for the time being I am going to enjoy my youth and the time I have left with my grandma. She is so hear and dear to my heart. It is so hard watching her slowly forget things and people. I know that she will one day forget who I am. She will forget the love she has given and she will not recognize the love that is being given to her, but I know that it will always be there, just forgotten.
1 comment:
Thanks, Katherine, for remembering Mom on her birthday (even though it made me cry again). Some of the research has changed--exercizing & eating healthy is supposed to help now. I do miss her.
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