On or about: 02-14-08  13:46, Ardith Hinton did engage James Bradley
regarding, but not limited to: Senior Moments

 AH> 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?

 AH> Good question.  It's listed in my 1972 nursing
 AH> dictionary... but  the general public may not have heard of it until
 AH> fairly  recently.  In any case, it does seem to be the maladie du 
 AH> jour.  An unspecified "dementia" sounds far less important 
 AH> to many people than a diagnosis beginning with a capital 

I was thinking post-WWII!  Just prior to 1972 - in my books -
would still qualify.

I regret to anounce the death of my God-Father on January 18. His fight
with dementia, or Alzhimers - what difference does it really make - capped
off such an active life. To see him, and my biological father kibitz with
each other - you would not believe the hilarity.

That chapter being over, I'll have to make my own laughs. 

 AH> letter.  The daughter-in-law of our elderly friend kept
 AH> reiterating that all families should look after their aged 
 AH> relatives at home while my parents were in care, but when 
 AH> he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's... that was different!  
 AH> She can't do xxx, she refuses to do yyy, yet she claims she 
 AH> has been nominated for sainthood....  ;-)
 
It's interesting when they are handed the torch, if they grow forward, or
skate backward. "Talk is cheep," might be a cliche, but for a
good reason, me thinks.

 
 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?

 AH> I think you're both saying essentially the same thing...
 AH> this  person is missing a few marbles, and for much the same 
 AH> reasons as my own parents were. You & Gord expressed 
 AH> related ideas in a different order.  The cause is multiple 
 AH> strokes.  The effect may be an inability to recognize 
 AH> people or to tell time or to remember seams & zippers are 
 AH> usually hidden on the inside of one's clothing. The same 
 AH> individual, however, could be quite competent in other 
 AH> ways.  It's not always easy to be sure about that unless 
 AH> you know them very, very well....  :-)
 
I was just suposing, that as easily a stroke might tighten up a hand, it
could also affect a language center, no? I just assumed it could also
affect face recognition, or associating a name with that face...

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

 AH> Maybe it's a little of both.  At such a distance you
 AH> obviously  can't visit them often... and it's difficult to know what 
 AH> to talk about when a person seems preoccupied with whether 
 AH> it's Tuesday or Wednesday & can't grasp the idea that their 
 AH> afternoon tea will arrive some time between 2:00 and 2:30, 
 AH> depending on what else is happening where they can't see 
 AH> it.  But you can't be accused of rationalizing your absence 
 AH> by believing it makes no difference either way.  :-)
 
 
For example, mom and I visited in 2004, and my Aunt might have noticed - in
a fleeting moment - who we were. My 'Uncle' had a great meeting with us one
day, and the next, not so much. He didn't care if tea time was Tuesday *or*
Wednesday. When I talked to his widow, and sister, I learned there were not
much for "better" days, and most of them just got worse. So
likely they were as relieved as sad, and that dichotomy can not be easy. We
came home, with a good visit under our belts.


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

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


Ya, I did some shopping yesterday, (My sister bought me a Costco
membership, and boy, were my feet sore. :-) so I slept for twelve hours,
fed myself and the cat, took a long hot bath, and had "some" left
over for a load and a half of laundry. I suppose mom would care about that
news, but I'd suspect you're a better sounding board for something
otherwise so mundain. 


... James

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