As if we needed another reminder of the terribleness of Alzheimer's, The Wall Street Journal today published the story of a 45-year old man, father of three and former chief financial officer of a hedge fund, who was "diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, capping nearly five years of uncertainty and fear about his increasing forgetfulness and difficulty with language."
Yesterday, in a discussion with a Mt. Pleasant, SC, dermatologist, he told me years ago he suspected a connection between patients' reactions to injections and surgery and the likelihood of the onset of Alzheimer's. He suspected patients who openly expressed themselves in often vulgar language about the pain and discomfort were likely to eventually be diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Years later his continuing experience in his practice supports this early assessment.
Earlier this year a retired minister at an Alzheimer's conference said when his wife came down with the disease she often uttered words which shocked him, their family and close friends. This was the release of inhibitions exhibited by some Alzheimer's patients.
After the Journal article appeared I looked at the WSJ web site for comments. I was not unduly surprised. Alzheimer's " is the worst disease to which I have ever been exposed, " wrote one daughter whose mother was stricken.
Another wrote, "It destroyed my father who fell into isolation, alcohol and depression at the loss of his life partner and died a year later believing he was being punished by God. What could he have possibly done to deserve this?" Alzheimer's is "a thief of the present and works backward taking your life one grain of sand at a time."
A third said "always keep your eye on the spouse because it takes a horrible toll. We focus on my dad and are helping him move to “Act II” of his life without mom."
After the onset of my wife's Alzheimer's, I spoke with a care giver's advocate. She told me the most important thing for me to do was "to take care of" myself. There is no cure for Alzheimer's - although the search goes on in limited ways. "If the caregiver goes down, everyone goes down," she said. "
So it is in the Journal story today. The wife's life has been turned upside down; she has had to return to the work place; her children's lives have been affected (no one can accurately know the short and long term effects); her husband takes cabs to the golf course and hitches rides home from strangers thereby threatening his own security.
(A friend of mine was found one day more than 100 miles from home and did not know how he got there or where he was. His Alzheimer's diagnosis came shortly thereafter.)
We need a national effort to unlock the secrets of Alzheimer's and discover a cure. The Journal estimates there are more than 500,000 people living with the disease and other forms of dementia "at an atypically young age." We ought not to dress it up with the language of war (e.g. war on poverty, drugs, crime, illegal immigration, etc.) but we need fresh eyes on the disease and potential preventatives or cures.
I hope this will become part of the new administration's efforts to restore America to humane greatness.
