What is Alzheimer's Disease? Definition and History
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Joy Butler
- bpsibley
- jerrib
- bpsibley
- biogardener
- bpsibley
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Joy Butler
- Alzheimers
-- posted by Joy Butler
» bpsibley - Re: Alzheimers
In response to message posted by JButler:Thank you so much for your kind words. I am touched by your response to my journal.
Just thought I would let you know that I have just published a book that includes my caregiving journal, my poetry written during that time and since, and photos of my mother and our family. The title is Waiting for the Morning: A Mother and Daughter's Journey through Alzheimer's, and it was published by iUniverse.com's Writer's Press. It's available at most of the online bookstores as well as at iUniverse.
And yes, pets did have a positive effect on my mother and seems to for a lot of Alzheimer's patients. Unfortunately, my mother had never allowed pets inside, and I wasn't sure how she would react to my bringing one in permanently, so I never did. Now having three adult cats inside (acquired one at a time over the past three years) and two tiny baby kittens, I think that having a pet inside all the time would have been very therapeutic for her as well.
Thanks again so very much for your kind words.
Brenda Parris Sibley
-- posted by bpsibley
» jerrib - Pretty frightening statistics
You're so right, too, about lots of folks being touched by this disease. My sister's father-in-law has Alzheimers and has long left the family in spirit. It is such a tragic disease. I admire you for caring for your mother.Welcome to the Suite! I'm sure your site will be a popular one for the aging baby boomers and older!
-- posted by jerrib
» biogardener - earliest symptom
The first symptom which I noticed in my mother was not memory loss but loss of a sense of responsibility. My mother was supposed to be babysitting my son while I was teaching evening classes, and time and again, I would come home to find a neighbor watching him because my mother had disappeared and the neighbors heard the baby crying. My mother could see nothing wrong with what she had done. Of course, no one had ever heard of the word "Alzheimer" at that time. Once I knew what was wrong, I was much better able to cope.-- posted by biogardener
» bpsibley - Re: earliest symptom
In response to message posted by biogardener:This is really interesting. Perhaps the symptom was a side effect of memory loss, as she would forget what she was supposed to be doing. The most recent memories tend to go first, so forgetting what she is doing at the moment was the problem. On the other hand, they do seem to lose a sense of responsibility, often in taking care of themselves, as eating properly and grooming. Besides the other things we saw getting gradually worse over the years-- repeating herself, forgetting the proper pronunciations/names of places, diseases, etc. (and never remembering when corrected)-- I noticed my mother seemed to have lost her ability to coordinate the clothes she wore. Also in the months preceeding her diagnosis, I noticed once when I visited, she wasn't eating properly, wanted just snacks and desserts instead of real meals. Taking care of the house also declined. After my sister realized something was wrong and took her to the doctor, she came back and found dirty dishes my mother had put away without washing them. It's amazing how many different things losing ones memory can affect.
Thanks for sharing this about your mother. Your last sentence is especially true for everyone I think. That's one reason an early diagnosis is important.
-- posted by bpsibley
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