I once had a neighbor that lost his cat on a regular basis. I could hear him calling the kitty; see the old man walking around his yard searching for the cat. Then one day I saw him standing still under a tree weeping in obvious distress. I walked over into his yard approached him and asked him what was wrong. He told me he was lost and could not find his way home.
Alzheimer's disease is a very sad disorder. It is one of the most tragic and painful conditions of the aging individual.
What is Alzheimer's? According to Tabers medical dictionary it is a chronic, progressive, degenerative disorder. To break it down: chronic means, all the time or continuous, Progressive means it relentlessly travels in stages from bad to worse. Degenerative means to continuously deteriorate or impair. Cognative refers to our ability to think or reason, to remember or make judgement calls.
Examples of cognitive deterioration can be a 45 year old hard working man fails a job evaluation and gets fired. The most common example people like to use is that grandmother forgot she was cooking and burned the house down. A 95 year old whose has a perfectly good driving record begins having minor accidents.
Me, I have learned to make 3 copies of my keys. I tape charts and messages on my refrigerator door. Charts keeping track of medication times and doses. Messages of important, even minor events to keep track of. Out of a fear of hungry animals I keep several full bowls of food and water available at all times for my dogs and cats. Am I am implying that I might be developing dementia? Yes, though the text books state it is not necessarily a part of natural aging, I personally think anyone who lives long enough will develope some degree of symptoms. Anyone who lives long enough will get Alzheimer's it simply depends upon what degree and how it is coped with; how quickly death comes.
When family or society despair institutions are made available. A sad situation, but to be fair it is very difficult to care for an unattractive individual that no longer remembers who you are; who may not be as well behaved or potty trained as a terrible two year old and who needs the 24/7 care of an infant. A large, still strong man, or woman can be dangerous. I knew of a case that the caregiver only gave into the expense of nursing care after several of her bones got broken. I am sure the judicial system has special health care jails in which to house them in the event a serious crime has occurred.
What can be done? There are no cures on the horizon except death. A few very expensive drugs with dubious value have been developed. Only a person who has been a caretaker for a terminal patient of any type disease realises just how lax the opioid laws really are. Of course heaven is the hope for those who die before they have forgotten the names of Jesus, Muhhamud, or Yahweh.
To recount some of the numbers: The number of individuals diagnosed with known cases of dementia are that for every 5 year passage of time beyond age 65 the number increases or doubles. In other words at 65 one in 10, at 75 to 85 yrs of age one in 5 and after 85 one in 2 people may be diagnosed with Alzheimer's at any one time. Alzheimer's can effect those persons in the so called pre senile
stage as young as from 40 year to 60 years of age to the extent that judgment may be effected even impaired. Yes, Alzheimer's is a very sad and deadly disorder.
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