Last night i watch and listen to a health and development specialist talking on how she’s preparing to get Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), a genetically transmitted disease.
She talked about her dad, a college professor, who started showing dementia about 12 years ago and was officially diagnosed in 2005. Being sickly her dad needs help eating, getting dressed and not knowing where he is. She said that out of fear of getting AD we tend to either go into denial or decide to do everything in preventing dementia.
She actually have had been doing what researcher suggested: Eating right, excercise daily and keeping her mind active. But according to her, research also shows that nothing will be 100 percent protecting us from getting AD. From her experience taking care of her father and researching what it’s like to live with dementia, she decided to choose on focusing three things.
Watch and listen to her 6 minutes speech at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv79SgT4O1k&feature=plcp
What promted me to listen is that i never read or hear anyone talk about preparing for alzheimer/dementia. Mostly is on prevention. Is she thinking out of the box?
What are your thoughts?
Stay Healthy! Be Happy! :)
P/S: Anyone can also share your thoughts via my email at: powjohnny@yahoo.com
Hi Johnny
Let’s hope her preparation helps to buy her more time so to speak until a cure is found.
If nothing else, the process of her preparation will make her a happier and better person.
As she said, if the monster wants to get you, it will get you but her very positive and proactive attitude get top marks!
Thanks for sharing.
Johnny,
Just share my thoughts on this topic.
Once my doctor told me, you don’t use it, you loose it. My experience has convinced me that this is true; at least for my muscles and my grey matter.
Yesterday, I saw at the back of a T-shirt one person is wearing that has these wordings …
Have Passion …
Be involved …
Challenge yourself!
These statements apply to all ages.
Cheers
hewlee
Hi Geraldine & Hewlee,
After listening to her talk i have been reflecting on the three things she is doing in case the monster gets her.
1. Getting new hobbies that uses her hands so that when brain not working hands still can do. She is learning knitting and oragami. (I prefer oragami)
2. Doing activities that will build her sense of balance. AD has physical symptoms which can lead patient to become less mobile. She took up Yoga and Tai chi. (Still thinking which one to go for)
3. Learning how to be a better person. Her dad was kind and loving before getting AD. When her dad loses his intellect, sense of humor and language skills, she can still see him loving her and all in the family and his caregivers. That love makes them want to be around him. (I thought this is great. Dementia patient not causing stress to the love ones.)
Is she thinking out of the box? I think this three methods worth cultivating.
Stay Healthy! Be Happy! :)
Johnny,
Almost every Sunday, my hubby and me will go to All Saints Nursing Home to visit my mother-in-law. She has advance dementia. She’s bedridden, on feeding tube, vision and hearing impaired and she totally cannot recognize any of her family members. I personally feel that to live out one’s life in that manner is really, really very sad.
I also noticed that the residents in the Home have variations of AD…some mild, others pretty severe. There are also residents who have Parkinson Disease.
Prevention is better than cure, so the saying goes but there are other factors that trigger the onset of AD or PD. Ditto for other health problems.
Keeping one’s mind active has always been the advice given but how do we explain why Mrs. LKY got AD? I believe she kept herself mentally and physically active before she was diagnosed with the disease. A brilliant lawyer losing her IQ and EQ… it’s all perplexing right?
For sure, I, like many others would not want to be afflicted with the long-drawn end of life type of disease that ends all forms of communication with loved ones. However, it’s not for me to choose the manner of how my life will end. So…I’d rather not worry and take one day at a time thanking God for another new day.
Cheers
Ros
Hi Ros
Sorry to hear about your mother-in-law’s plight. Really sad, indeed.
I suppose AD is just like cancer; either you get it or not regardless of how healthy one is (mentally and physically), doing all the rite things to prevent/prepare.
Yep, as the saying goes ‘Don’t worry about things that you can’t control.’, which kinda is my mantra so I would like to quote Johnny’s ‘Stay healthy, be happy’.
Well put!
Hi Hew Lee
Hope you are keeping well.
I have also heard or was I told (can’t remember, kekekee) that if you don’t use it, you’ll loose it.
Now, I wonder if it’s just muscles and grey matter with men??
Johnny, hope you don’t mind my side-tracking a little but then again, does it? With or without AD? Obviously in the case of AD, it depends on the severity of the disease.
Hew Lee, the wordings you saw on the tee: Have passion – a big tick, Be involved – with whom? (in my case, hehehee) and Challenge yourself – ahhh….nice sharing!
Hi Geraldine,
Yes, I am still kicking, thank you.
Yes men do have other problems besides muscles and grey matter. But these are outside the topic of AD.
“Be involved” need not be with people. Like the recent supersonic free fall from 39,045 meters from space by Austrian skydiving expert, Felix Baumgartner.
Cheers
hewlee
I’ll be doing my project on dementia soon – probably providing a games/activity kit for the caregivers of people/patients with dementia (PWD). My group may also want to interview some caregivers as part of our study. Can i know if anyone is interested/willing to be interviewed?? You can reach me at inezlimsk@gmail.com. Thanks
Hi Geraldine #5
How are you – been long time. Sorry I couldnt meet up when you were last here. By the way, I like the Pot Luck idea at Botanic Gardens, I can do a chicken curry with French loaf if someone can bring some coffee.
Yes, “cancer” came to my mind also immediately after digesting Rosalind’s reflection. Ronald Reagan, leader of the highest order, is a prime example of Alzheimer’s – I quote this from an online article “Ronald Reagan retired to California. He lived for ten years following his diagnosis and showed us that no-one, not even presidents of the United States are immune from Alzheimer’s disease.”
Well done, you guys have heightened the curiousity out of me so I browsed the internet to read more. What I learned besides what we know about mental/physical activity being important, are the causes of dementia and with medication/supplements (Vit B), dementia can be forestalled. Captioned “Dementia Care Notes”, under the link: http://dementia-care-notes.in/dementia/what-is-dementia/, you can read on, but there is a slew of notes on this topic if you google.
The last paragraph talks about the myths of ageing: “Another confusion is that people think dementia is inevitable with age. It is not. Not everyone who grows old gets dementia. While the probability of getting dementia increases as one ages (more old people get dementia as compared to younger people), dementia is not a part of normal ageing, and it is not inevitable.”
Interestingly, has anyone seen a younger dementia case? I have not come across one so far, have you? Stroke afflicting a 35-year old, yes, but not dementia.
Hmm…. B12 deficiency can help to prevent dementia?…. time to find my Neurobion, where did I put it.
According to Dr Katrin & Yuri Shumakov and i quote, “When both hands are engaged, impellent motor impulses activate the language portion of the brain.”
Origami is useful as a brain and memory tool, but is art as well. Also a relaxing activity for those who want a way to de-stress. I am now taking the first step by learning how to create a paper brain (Origami). It has a diagram showing the functions of the brain to be folded into three dimemsion.
If anyone of you interested, upon your request, i will email you this paper origami with link on how to fold. Enjoy and relax and don’t stress our brain too much. :)
#04 Rosalind thanks for sharing and hope you and hubby can manage the situation. Sometimes i tell myself, “let’s follow nature”.
#02 Hew Lee, i have met and chat with you several occasion. I know you as a very positive person. Now i also know you are sharp too! :)
#06 Geraldine, meet you only twice but read your post and comment more often. Please correct me if i am wrong. You are the down to earth person. Maybe you can put up another
topic relating to “If you don’t use it, You’ll loose it”. I believe it’s going to be a lively read. Ha ha :)
#08 Hi Inez, you are doing good for the management for dementia patient. I think after care service here is quite high. If there is ways to keep cost low it will be help to humanity. Keep it up.!
Stay Healthy! Be Happy! :)
Hi Johnny Pow,
Good afternoon.
Alzheimer’s: You inadvertently missed out the apostrophe and a ‘s’ after the word. In Alzheimer’s the sufferer is ultra forgetful and he may take his breakfast twice or lunch twice. Sometimes he pays for his food in advance and after eating he pays again, forgetting that he has paid earlier. He is always misplacing his door keys and purse. Workers down with the disease are usually boarded out in the interest of the employer and employee. But he can still do his daily domestic chores like cooking, bathing so on and so forth.
Dementia: The sufferer seems and acts like a Zombie. He needs his loved ones to feed, bathe and dress him. He has completely lost his mental faculty. When he goes out, he cannot find his way home. He is unable to board a bus. Most of the time, his mind is blank.
To fight both Alzheimer’s and Dementia, we need the company of friends. When interacting, our mind is working and there is no chance for either disease to erode our alertness and intelligence.
Your title should be aptly rephrased “Fighting Alzheimer’s/Dementia!” “Preparing” may mean you have little or no confidence in repelling either disease from taking hold on you.
Blessings,
Terry
Hi All,
Alzheimer’s is definitely the forerunner of Dementia as most medical doctors conclude. To avoid attracting Dementia, Alzheimer’s has to be cured first.
Some seek Western medicine while others look towards TCM physicians for an Alzheimer’s cure while there is still a window of opportunity. Never drag the feet on looking for a cure for Alzheimer’s as we may never know when Dementia would take over. Proscrastination on curing Alzheimer’s is as good as winning a contract for Dementia.
Blessings,
#12 Sorry, I got the word procrastination wrong with an additional ‘s’ (3rd line).
Terry
Medical journals have always urged readers on how to fight or prevent cancer. So far I haven’t heard them mention how to prepare for cancer. So “Fighting Alzheimer’s/Dementia” is the most appropriate title at this juncture.
Blessings,
Hi Terry,
Dementia is an umbrella term. Maybe you would like to have more understanding by going to http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents.php?categoryID=200362
My mother was infected by Vascular dementia after she has a fall while accompanied by my maid to the market. That was four years ago. It is financially, physically and mentally draining to take care of her. Luckily she has 9 children to fall back on although I and another sister are the main caregiver.
Hi everyone! This might interest you.
http://www.agelessonline.net/2788/conditions-that-mimic-alzheimer%E2%80%99s-disease/
Cheers
Ros
Hi All,
Fighting Dementia does not mean we have already caught the illness and we are trying to rub it off with medication. It merely means taking practical steps to stall any chances of the disease catching us out of the blue.
One way to checkmate the disease from ever catching us is through interaction with friends. As long as we keep the mind working through chatting or writing we are pretty safe from Dementia.
Loners and the friendless by choice are in grave danger of catching the disease. The cure for them is to step out of the comfort zone of the home and step up the need to befriend others. Joining our Silver Hairs Club is a move in the right direction.
Blessings,
#10 Johnny Pow refers.
The Japanese art of origami is truly of Chinese origin known as jiet(folding) tzee(paper)in Mandarin. The Chinese were the first to pioneered it, first from making paper lanterns, then, branching out to making other forms. Japanese are master copycats. The Chinese did not boast about their jiet tzee in the same way as the Japanese boasted about their origami of actual Chinese origin. The Chinese created jiet tzee and the Japanese internalised it as their own origami creation. Even Japanese festival ceremonial lanterns are being copied from Chinese funeral styled vertical, long lanterns.
When the then Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka exited his plane at Beijing Airport, he publicly, emotionally declared that Japan owed China a huge cultural debt as his people have been borrowing from Chinese culture for centuries. Even the large sleeves of the Japanese kimono was copied from ancient Chinese dress. China is indeed the Cultural Mother of Japan. There is nothing to shout about the so-called Japanese creativity which is, after all, a load of bull-shit.
Blessings,
In order not to insult our own intelligence, let us not assume without basis that origami is indeed from Japan.
Blessings,
I ran through this post several times. I do not see anybody mentioned anything about Japan. In fact the words Japan and Japanese appear more than 10 times in comments 18 and 19.
Terry – if you are bent on Japan-bashing, why don’t you join those Chinese fishermen to protest at “Senkaku-shot?” or if you like, “???”, off the East China Sea.
Alternatively, start a new thread and let us discuss the pros and cons of Japanese Imperialism. Do not hijack a post to voice your displeasure against a nation or nationality.
Blessings ????
Have you all read in the newspapers that at one time, the Japanese shamelessly claimed that the McDonald hamburgers originated in Japan? The truth is neither the USA not Japan
first whipped up the idea of selling hamburgers.
The German city of Hamburg have been selling ready-to-eat takeaway hamburgers for a long time. Two American tourists took the idea to the USA and the McDonald fast food chain was born. It took off first in then USA, and then branching off internationally.
Blessings,
Brothel Trip
An elderly man goes into a brothel and tells the madam he would like a young girl for the night. Surprised, she looks at the ancient man and asks how old he is.
‘I’m 90 years old,’ he says.
’90?’ replies the woman. ‘Don’t you realize you’ve had it?’
‘Oh, sorry,’ says the old man. ‘How much do I owe you?’
Cheers & Have a Great weekend everyone!
Ros
#20 Daniel Chan,
Hi Dan,
Sorry you for upsetting you.
I was similarly worked up by Johnny Pow mentioning origami whom he had mistakenly thought a Japanese paper folding art skill when actually it originated in China.
Had he mentioned “jiet tzee” in Mandarin instead of origami, my rebuttal would not have come about. We have to give credit to the originator of the art form which is still China. Not giving credit to China, the great Cultural Mother of Japan, was tantamount to China bashing.
Blessings,
Haha, Hew Lee n Johnny
I mentioned the ‘loose it’ thing as it piqued my curiosity, wondering if men who have AD (still in line with the topic, heehee, albeit a little side-tracking), forget to use it n subsequently……
Thank goodness Ros came to the rescue with the above brothel trip. Looks like AD does not affect the ‘use it’ but rather, the “Oh, I had it??’.
Hew Lee, am glad I don’t have to rush out and grab a man, choy! in order to keep AD at bay. Phew!
Yes, that free fall guy was totally awesome. My stomach fell to my feet when it was televised, terrified that something would go wrong.
Hi Dan,
I am not pro-China, pro-Japan, pro-USA or pro-Russia. I’m pro-truth and pro-fact. If somebody claims that sushi orignated in Korea, I would definintely come out strongly in the defence of Japan as the originator of the dish.
Cheers!
Hi Susan
I am good! Hope you are healthy and happy.
Let’s have a pot luck gathering one of these days; sounds like fun n can’t wait to taste your chicken curry with french loaf. Oui, Oui. May I bring wine instead of coffee?
Eating is good for the grey matter as it releases the happy hormones while we ooh and ahh over the food that we are tasting.
A famous chef who was tasting a dish cooked by a contestant said ‘My mouth just had an orgasm.’ He obviously does not have AD.
Let’s eat.
Hi Geraldine,
Since you are on the topic of eating, I came across this discussion between eating and the brain …
Yes, a person who still enjoy eating does not have Dementia. This is a good (free and easy) layman way of checking whether the (yourself or your love ones) brain is still working properly or not. To clarify – enjoying eating, wanting to eat, forget he/she has eaten, no interest to eat, etc. are all “triggering” reactions from the brain.
There are many types of hormones that trigger our brain with sensations. The appetite hormone is called gherlin. Tests on rats show that the appetite hormone ghrelin acts on pleasure receptors in the brain. You can search the Internet to read more about why we feel good eating – it’s all in the brain and not in the stomach!
hewlee
Hi Terry, thank you for the several replies. You are entitled to your opinion as far as Japan is concerned. But this post is not the place to declare your personal disdain. Try a new thread.
Thank you, Steven Ng and Rosalind Lee (#15,16), for providing the useful links. We ought to share such enlightening information with all concerned. Johnny – thanks for initiating this subject. Indeed, like it or not, we must all be prepared for this inevitable eventuality, albeit affecting each of us to a different extent. Quite certainly some among us are already making incoherent statements. See you this evening at Tampines. Lets walk, talk and gawk. They say beer and stout can keep dementia at bay. Not sure….there is only one way to find out.
Hi Terry,
Last night 19 of us have a good dinner. We ate roasted suckling pig with wine. Simply delicious. Work up late today and feeling very fresh. Read today ST about the drug “LMTX” and its effect on dementia. Anyway, this is a different topics from what i am sharing.
I was inspired by the speech of “HOW I’M PREPARING TO GET ALZHEIMER’S’ by ALANNA SHAIKH. I didn’t change her topic. She also said she learn origami and didn’t talk about its origin. Neither do i.
Below is the full text of her speech. You may want to print it out and listen to her speech again.
—–
I’d like to talk about my dad. My dad has Alzheimer’s disease. He started showing the symptoms about 12 years ago,and he was officially diagnosed in 2005.Now he’s really pretty sick. He needs help eating,he needs help getting dressed, he doesn’t really know where he is or when it is, and it’s been really, really hard. My dad was my hero and my mentor for most of my life,and I’ve spent the last decade watching him disappear.
My dad’s not alone. There’s about 35 million people globally living with some kind of dementia, and by 2030 they’re expecting that to double to 70 million.That’s a lot
of people.Dementia scares us. The confused faces and shaky hands of people who have dementia,the big numbers of people who get it, they frighten us. And because of that fear, we tend to do one of two things: We go into denial: “It’s not me, it has nothing to do with me, it’s never going to happen to me. “Or, we decide that we’re going to prevent dementia,and it will never happen to us because we’re going to do everything right and it won’t come and get us.I’m looking for a third way: I’m preparing to get Alzheimer’s disease.
Prevention is good, and I’m doing the things that you can do to prevent Alzheimer’s.I’m eating right, I’m exercising every day, I’m keeping my mind active,that’s what the research says you should do.But the research also shows that there’s nothing that will 100 percent protect you.If the monster wants you, the monster’s gonna get you.That’s what happened with my dad.My dad was a bilingual college professor. His hobbies were chess, bridge and writing op-eds.(Laughter)He got dementia anyway.If the monster wants you, the monster’s gonna get you. Especially if you’re me, ’cause Alzheimer’s tends to run in families. So I’m preparing to get Alzheimer’s disease.
Based on what I’ve learned from taking care of my father, and researching what it’s like to live with dementia, I’m focusing on three things in my preparation: I’m changing what I do for fun, I’m working to build my physical strength,and — this is the hard one — I’m trying to become a better person. Let’s start with the hobbies.
When you get dementia, it gets harder and harder to enjoy yourself.You can’t sit and have long talks with your old friends, because you don’t know who they are.It’s confusing to watch television, and often very frightening.And reading is just about impossible. When you care for someone with dementia, and you get training,they train you to engage them in activities that are familiar, hands-on, open-ended.With my dad, that turned out to be letting him fill out forms. He was a college professor at a state school; he knows what paperwork looks like. He’ll sign his name on every line, he’ll check all the boxes,he’ll put numbers in where he thinks there should be numbers.But it got me thinking, what would my caregivers do with me? I’m my father’s daughter. I read, I write, I think about global health a lot. Would they give me academic journals so I could scribble in the margins?Would they give me charts and graphs that I could color? So I’ve been trying to learn to do things that are hands- on.I’ve always liked to draw, so I’m doing it more even though I’m really very bad at it. I am learning some basic origami. I can make a really great box.(Laughter) And I’m teaching myself to knit, which so far I can knit a blob.
But, you know, it doesn’t matter if I’m actually good at it. What matters is that my hands know how to do it.Because the more things that are familiar, the more things my hands know how to do,the more things that I can be happy and busy doing when my brain’s not running the show anymore.They say that people who are engaged in activities are happier, easier for their caregivers to look after, and it may even slow the progress of the disease.That all seems like win to me.I want to be as happy as I can for as long as I can.A lot of people don’t know that Alzheimer’s actually has physical symptoms,as well as cognitive symptoms. You lose your sense of balance, you get muscle tremors, and that tends to lead people to being less and less mobile.They get scared to walk around. They get scared to move.So I’m doing
activities that will build my sense of balance. I’m doing yoga and tai chi to improve my balance, so that when I start to lose it,I’ll still be able to be mobile.I’m doing weight-bearing exercise, so that I have the muscle strength so that when I start to wither, I have more time that I can still move around.
Finally, the third thing. I’m trying to become a better person. My dad was kind and loving before he had Alzheimer’s, and he’s kind and loving now. I’ve seen him lose his intellect, his sense of humor, his language skills, but I’ve also seen this: He loves me, he loves my sons,he loves my brother and my mom and his caregivers. And
that love makes us want to be around him, even now.even when it’s so hard. When you take away everything that he ever learned in this world, his naked heart still shines.I was never as kind as my dad, and I was never as loving. And what I need now is to learn to be like that.I need a heart so pure that if it’s stripped bare by dementia, it will survive.
I don’t want to get Alzheimer’s disease. What I want is a cure in the next 20 years, soon enough to protect me.But if it comes for me, I’m going to be ready.Thank you.
(Applause)
Stay Healthy! Be Happy! :)
Terry #11,
Personally I am not bothered if Alzheimer has an ‘s’ ( pardon the pun) :-). Johnny has brought forth a condition that affect many elderly people, which SHC should be concerned. Thanks Johnny for bringing up this awareness.Whether it is fighting, preventing or whichever semantics is used, what is important is that there must be the awareness, and how to detect such onset.
Healthy living and active lifestyle may not guarantee warding off such conditions, but we can be assured that other form of “old age” sicknesses can be delayed.
Lucid minds have allowed many of us to share our experience but we must be mindful not to contract OCWED. :-)
Thank you Johnny Pow for initiating and also to all who shared their experience/knowledge. Though we may not be able to ward off such conditions, we certainly can initiate the actions we need to help ourself, while we are still mentally sound, to care for our on-going well being and our family (such as having a Will, lasting power of attorney, etc.).
thank you for sharing, Johnny. it’s really the luck of the draw…if you are going to get it, you’ll get it. the array of drugs available only slows down the progress. to see a close one destroyed this way is very heart-wrenching indeed. the victim suffers, the family suffers. let’s live for the day! and if I may: stay healthy, be happy.
Hi Johnny
Tks for introducing a subject that is of great interest to many members. My late Mother-in-Law suffered from Alzheimer’s before she passed away. Symptions: a) She did not know when she was full. We had to ration her food to prevent her from over-eating. Every evening, when she heard the clatering of dishes, she would come downstairs to have her meal even though she had just eaten.
b) Another sympton was remembering things from the past, but not the present. Eg she used to enquire whether my son had taken his meals even though he had gone overseas for study for many years. Our standard answer was, “yes, he had” and that made her happy.
Just like an old car, something will have to give way if one lives long enough. It could be the brain or it could be the limps. I met a 92-year frail old lady recently in my neighbourhood. She is super alert but she is very frustrated because she cannot move around independently.
She was being wheeled around by her maid in a wheel chair.
That set me thinking, if I have to choose between losing my brains or my limps, which would it be? Ideally, of course, I want to have both, but if I have to choose, I think I rather lose my brain.
Although, it may seem pitiful to see someone suffering from
Dementia, the fact is the patient is not aware of what is
happening and therefore, theoretically, he/she does not suffer. It is the care-giver who has the task of taking care of the patient.
That brings me to another point, better write your LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney) and give instructions as to how you want to be cared when your mental capacity is gone, but you are still alive and kicking. And nominate someone you trust to manage your money so that he/she could use your money to take care of you, like hiring a nurse or put you in a good Nursing Home.
Hi Barbara,
I know you not only as a decisive lady, you also have had prepared yourself when an uninvited issues come into your lives. I believe caring for a dementia patient is the most stressful of all carings. I can feel the situation our P K #15 was when his mother fell and infected by Vascular dementia. I think sometime we have to accept the things we cannot change. #15 P K, i hope you are not neglecting your own health and well-being.
#9 Susan, about AD and age, i check with our HealthXchange and found this answer: “Among middle age executives, dementia may not be so common but certainly possible. Dementia that afflicts the younger age group may not be of the Alzheimer’s type but of another form for example Fronto-temporal Dementia.” Unquote: I also didn’t see any young demention case but i do know a few careless young executive during my career days. I don’t think that is the sign right? :)
#20 Daniel, it is definitely helpful to seperate the topic to avoid confusion and misunderstanding. Thanks for your suggestion.
#31 Jeremy, great minds think alike. Babara #33 shared with me a couple of months ago about writing one LPA (Lasting Power of Attorney). Agreed, this is one of the good way to prepare ourselve in the event we are caught with an unexpected disease. It also ensure our family and love ones know what to do and not putting them in a stressful situation. But i have to admit. I have been procastinating. :)
#32 John, I like your positive nature. Wish you stay happy jamming for many years to come. :)
Stay Healthy! Be Happy! :)
#29 Johnny,
Thank you for sharing the article with us.
#33 Barbara,
Personally, I’d choose to lose my limb than to lose my brains. That way, I can still continue to ‘yak yak yak’ in this webpage and irritate the hell out of some people. hahahaha
Cheers
Ros
Right on, Ros! Heehee.
As the saying goes:
Be happy. Be yourself. If others don’t like it, then let them be. (I call it, TOUGH!). Happiness is a choice. Life isn’t about pleasing everybody.
Bwahahahaha.
See, your constant parting words stay with me.
Johnny, please pardon my yet again slight deviation.
Anticipating to visit the Association of the Blind to join “the dinning in the dark” i did a short experiment myself being blind. Upon waking up, i close my eyes to do
my morning routine. Going to the bathroom, brushing teeth, pick up newspaper at my gate and to my usual relax chair for reading. I skip boiling water because too dangerous to experiment and of course cannot read lah! :)
How i feel in this short experiment? I felt peaceful with less things to do like not boiling water and reading the news, so don’t care a dam. :) But what if this is permanent? Will i feel being handicap? My thoughts was if i able to change my mindset and adjust the way to live i may still be able to live on.
But learning about how patient with AD behave can be worrying. Example: Depending on which parts of the brain being damaged, an AD patient sexual ‘manners’ may change.
They may appear less sensitive to the other person’s needs or appearing sexually aggressive. They don’t know why they are behaving this way. I also remember having read news of dementia patient being handcuff. Perhaps what Alanna is doing to change what she does for fun, improving her physical strength and to become a better person is a wise decision.
Can one be a good Alzheimer’s patient and not make oneself miserable?
Stay Healthy! Be Happy! :)
Johnny,
You are so funny! I haven’t come across anyone who experiments like you. I am glad you came out of the experient without hurting yourself. Next time, you want to
experiment being blind, make sure all your windows are locked, so that you don’t accidentally fall out of the window. And I hope you had Annie’s permission to carry out the experiment because if you hurt yourself, she has to be the caregiver. Ha Ha!
Dear All Shcians,
May I share my 3 weeks of Mc experience staying at home not encouraged to do dusting,carrying buckets of water to mop d floor, no bending of head etc. you name it ( house work) and i am not supposed to do it.
Well, well i thought (pre-op) that since I can’t do so much, hah, then I should have lots of time to rest. I was wrong!!
Is Dementia on the way in? I kept misplacing things and spent time looking for them. Blame the disturbed vision? i could have just read my contractor’s invoice for payment of work done but couldn’t find it when I had wanted to write out d payment cheque. Kept misplacing my house keys. I was frantic and had to find them in case a fire broke out I would be trapped.
This didn;t happen when I was actively working and was not so laid back. 3 weeks and it’s this bad,can;t imagine what if I remained being laid back for 3 years, it will drive the family up the wall.
The answer to my above problems is to remain mentally and physically active, when I regain my full vision.
My 2 cents.
Geok Suan.
Hi Johnny
The 6 minutes speech at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vv79SgT4O1k&feature=plcp……..thanks, it is very good advice, we share n learn from it…
YEAP, TRY TO BE HAPPY and try NOT to WORRY…..
cheers
#39 Geok Suan, You have good memories naming all those you been with last thursday. I see you as fit as a feedle. My guess is you’re still thinking about your workplace and that causes you not to remember things not in your priority’s thought. :)
#40 Hi Freda, Yes “Not To Worry” Be Happy! Thanks for your advice.
Hip hip hooray! I’m going for holiday this evening. Catch up with you all end of this month. :)
Stay Healthy! Be Happy! :)
Dear All,
I come across this interest site “lumosity.com” which trains you to exercise your brains.
Give it a try. It may helps to keep AD at bay.
Have fun. :-)