Hi, James!  Recently you wrote in a message to Gord Hannah:

GH>  The sad thing is that Alzheimer's can not be accurately
GH>  diagnosed until the "patient" is dead and an autopsy of
GH>  the brain is done.

JB>  It's a pretty new diagnosis too, isn't it?


           Good question.  It's listed in my 1972 nursing dictionary... but
the general public may not have heard of it until fairly recently.  In any
case, it does seem to be the maladie du jour.  An unspecified
"dementia" sounds far less important to many people than a
diagnosis beginning with a capital letter.  The daughter-in-law of our
elderly friend kept reiterating that all families should look after their
aged relatives at home while my parents were in care, but when he was
diagnosed with Alzheimer's... that was different!  She can't do xxx, she
refuses to do yyy, yet she claims she has been nominated for sainthood.... 
;-)



GH>  ... this is a result of many mini strokes and a couple
GH>  of medium sized ones.

JB>  Ardith might be better able to explain it, but might
JB>  these strokes be more likely the cause of her
JB>  disassociation?


           I think you're both saying essentially the same thing... this
person is missing a few marbles, and for much the same reasons as my own
parents were. You & Gord expressed related ideas in a different order. 
The cause is multiple strokes.  The effect may be an inability to recognize
people or to tell time or to remember seams & zippers are usually
hidden on the inside of one's clothing. The same individual, however, could
be quite competent in other ways.  It's not always easy to be sure about
that unless you know them very, very well....  :-)



JB>  I'm about 1300 miles away from my loved ones. I don't
JB>  know if that makes it better or worse.


           Maybe it's a little of both.  At such a distance you obviously
can't visit them often... and it's difficult to know what to talk about
when a person seems preoccupied with whether it's Tuesday or Wednesday
& can't grasp the idea that their afternoon tea will arrive some time
between 2:00 and 2:30, depending on what else is happening where they can't
see it.  But you can't be accused of rationalizing your absence by
believing it makes no difference either way.  :-)



JB>  Shootin' the breeze, Gordon. Sometimes that helps too.


           Yes.  While I can't fix it, I can tell you you're not alone....  :-)




--- timEd/386 1.10.y2k+