Comments on: Alzheimer’s … How Soon Do You Really Want to Know? http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/ Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:48:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Moof http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-5365 Moof Thu, 10 Aug 2006 14:13:52 +0000 http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-5365 Thank you, Borneo Breezes. So many people are either experiencing this currently ... or have in the past. It's a terrible, nightmarish reality to have to face. Thank you, Borneo Breezes. So many people are either experiencing this currently … or have in the past. It’s a terrible, nightmarish reality to have to face.

]]> By: Borneo Breezes http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-5293 Borneo Breezes Wed, 09 Aug 2006 23:49:34 +0000 http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-5293 Moof - The only thing more moving, maybe, than your post is the thoughtful responses you have invoked. Thank you. Moof - The only thing more moving, maybe, than your post is the thoughtful responses you have invoked. Thank you.

]]> By: Mexico Medical Student » Grand Rounds Vol 2, No. 46 http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-5107 Mexico Medical Student » Grand Rounds Vol 2, No. 46 Tue, 08 Aug 2006 14:01:13 +0000 http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-5107 [...] If you could find out for sure you were going to get Alzheimer’s Disease, would you want to subject yourself to the screening? That’s the quandary Moof presents with rather emotional responses from her readers. [...] [...] If you could find out for sure you were going to get Alzheimer’s Disease, would you want to subject yourself to the screening? That’s the quandary Moof presents with rather emotional responses from her readers. [...]

]]> By: Moof http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4976 Moof Mon, 07 Aug 2006 03:43:30 +0000 http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4976 Dr. Scan Man ... I was wondering if you'd pick up on Dr. Schwab's question ... How would you choose when? You wouldn't want to be too quick ... yet, if you waited too long - you could lose your chance completely. Would love to hear what you think ... that's the part that Dr. Schwab called "impossible" ... Dr. Scan Man … I was wondering if you’d pick up on Dr. Schwab’s question …

How would you choose when? You wouldn’t want to be too quick … yet, if you waited too long - you could lose your chance completely.

Would love to hear what you think … that’s the part that Dr. Schwab called “impossible” …

]]> By: scan man http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4955 scan man Sun, 06 Aug 2006 15:41:52 +0000 http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4955 Moof, You have this great gift of coming up with posts with some moral / ethical dilemma at the core. I sympathize with all of those above who have experienced first-hand what Alzheimer's does to loved ones. In spite of all the legal / moral / ethical / religious issues, I believe I would opt to go out on my terms while I was still being me. 'Cogito ergo sum.' 'Non-cogito ergo zero.' Moof, You have this great gift of coming up with posts with some moral / ethical dilemma at the core.
I sympathize with all of those above who have experienced first-hand what Alzheimer’s does to loved ones.
In spite of all the legal / moral / ethical / religious issues, I believe I would opt to go out on my terms while I was still being me.

‘Cogito ergo sum.’
‘Non-cogito ergo zero.’

]]> By: Moof http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4891 Moof Sat, 05 Aug 2006 12:24:03 +0000 http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4891 Wandering Visitor - thank you so much for "wandering" over to my site, and being kind enough to drop me a comment. <blockquote>[...] nothing in life is guaranteed, and each day is and should be treated as a gift and a blessing.</blockquote> Yes, indeed. Thank you. --- Julie ... thank you for stopping in and leaving a comment. What you've shared about your mother-in-law is so sad! I can't imagine the torture it must have been for her ... and for you and your husband. You're the second person to mention not wanting to continue through the disease ... although I'm ambivalent about that, as you've mentioned you are. I'm going to be exploring that issue in a post in a day or so. Difficult to look at ... but important, I think. Wandering Visitor - thank you so much for “wandering” over to my site, and being kind enough to drop me a comment.

[...] nothing in life is guaranteed, and each day is and should be treated as a gift and a blessing.

Yes, indeed. Thank you.

—

Julie … thank you for stopping in and leaving a comment. What you’ve shared about your mother-in-law is so sad! I can’t imagine the torture it must have been for her … and for you and your husband.

You’re the second person to mention not wanting to continue through the disease … although I’m ambivalent about that, as you’ve mentioned you are.

I’m going to be exploring that issue in a post in a day or so. Difficult to look at … but important, I think.

]]> By: Julie http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4872 Julie Sat, 05 Aug 2006 06:42:28 +0000 http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4872 This disease is so difficult for everyone concerned. My mother-in-law had Alzheimer's at the same time as lung cancer metastasized to the brain. She was in grief for her cancer over and over again because she forgot she had it. We were fortunate that her demise was swift. My husband saw another person with the end stage disease and decided that if he ever learned he had the disease he would not want to go on living. I am not so certain as he is. I have several friends whose spouses are in various stages of decline with cognitive loss. They have very different styles of coping. I guess how we do depends on our methods of dealing with difficulties. The progress at first is slow and people accommodate until suddenly they realize they can't leave their spouse alone at home for anything. This disease is so difficult for everyone concerned. My mother-in-law had Alzheimer’s at the same time as lung cancer metastasized to the brain. She was in grief for her cancer over and over again because she forgot she had it. We were fortunate that her demise was swift.

My husband saw another person with the end stage disease and decided that if he ever learned he had the disease he would not want to go on living. I am not so certain as he is.

I have several friends whose spouses are in various stages of decline with cognitive loss. They have very different styles of coping. I guess how we do depends on our methods of dealing with difficulties. The progress at first is slow and people accommodate until suddenly they realize they can’t leave their spouse alone at home for anything.

]]> By: wandering visitor http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4862 wandering visitor Sat, 05 Aug 2006 04:43:40 +0000 http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4862 I'm sorry that you had to experience that. It sounds like you and your brother did the right thing - end stage Alzheimer's patients no longer have short term memory, and seem to live only in the present - there would have been no reason to remind (and maybe scare) your mother of something she could not change. At this point medicine doesn't have good answers for how to predict or really treat Alzheimer's, which means it's not really useful to know what one's risk is beforehand... all of which just serves to remind us that nothing in life is guaranteed, and each day is and should be treated as a gift and a blessing. I’m sorry that you had to experience that. It sounds like you and your brother did the right thing - end stage Alzheimer’s patients no longer have short term memory, and seem to live only in the present - there would have been no reason to remind (and maybe scare) your mother of something she could not change. At this point medicine doesn’t have good answers for how to predict or really treat Alzheimer’s, which means it’s not really useful to know what one’s risk is beforehand… all of which just serves to remind us that nothing in life is guaranteed, and each day is and should be treated as a gift and a blessing.

]]> By: Ex Utero http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4831 Ex Utero Fri, 04 Aug 2006 17:28:39 +0000 http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4831 Moof, tag you're it. http://talesfromthewomb.blogspot.com/2006/08/tagged-by-unitelligent-design-book.html Moof,

tag you’re it.

http://talesfromthewomb.blogspot.com/2006/08/tagged-by-unitelligent-design-book.html

]]> By: Moof http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4823 Moof Fri, 04 Aug 2006 12:39:07 +0000 http://moof.blogsplot.net/2006/08/03/294/#comment-4823 Pk ... every time I think of that, I want to cry for what you went through. And now, I want to cry for what you're going through ... These experiences have deepened you, and will continue to do so. Pain does that when it impacts with a willing spirit. when the Potter shapes a new vase, He uses a lot of heat, and He hollows out a huge area on the inside of the vessel as He shapes it according to His own design. When it's complete, all beautiful and shiny, He fills that big empty place with what <em>He</em> wants in there ... Hang in there Pk ... you're in good Hands. --- Cathy, you're right ... there's no reason to second guess ourselves. I think that we do the best we can when we're faced with the horrible prospect of losing a parent to Alzheimer's. You say that early on, your mother cried over the fact that she knew something was wrong ... that's the nightmare, right there. I can't imagine going through something like that. While I think that if I had terminal cancer, I would want to know ... all of the details ... I'm not sure that I'd want to know if I had Alzheimer's. One is just my body ... and my mind would still be there throughout whatever time was left ... while the other is just to awful to contemplate. {{{ hugs }}} back to you, my dear Cathy. --- Peace Wanda ... thank you for your very kind comment! Huge hugs! --- TJ, you said: <blockquote>We aren’t strong enough, or wise enough, to hold the fate of a human life in the palm of our hands. To ponder such things seems difficult enough.</blockquote> That is the crux. I'm not at all surprised that you were able to come into here and sum things up with the wisdom which I've come to expect from you. Thank you, dear Heart! --- Wolfbaby ... my dear ... you sound like me. Although I second guess myself ... question myself endlessly ... it's a question I don't want to hear the answer to. Thank you. --- Ipanema, thank you so much for your very kind words. Thankfully, much of our forgetfulness can be blamed on fatigue, lack of attention ... and everyday distractions. I know that some of my hypertension medications make me a little numb between the ears at times. So ... being forgetful doesn't necessarily mean the worst ... The image ... yes, the image struck me powerfully as soon as I finished assembling it. It's a composite of a fraction of an image I found on the internet, and some haphazard transparent colors. I knew what I intended to do when I made it, but I wasn't prepared for the effect it had on me when I was done. I'm not always so lucky when I experiment like that. Pk … every time I think of that, I want to cry for what you went through. And now, I want to cry for what you’re going through …

These experiences have deepened you, and will continue to do so. Pain does that when it impacts with a willing spirit.

when the Potter shapes a new vase, He uses a lot of heat, and He hollows out a huge area on the inside of the vessel as He shapes it according to His own design. When it’s complete, all beautiful and shiny, He fills that big empty place with what He wants in there …

Hang in there Pk … you’re in good Hands.

—

Cathy, you’re right … there’s no reason to second guess ourselves. I think that we do the best we can when we’re faced with the horrible prospect of losing a parent to Alzheimer’s.

You say that early on, your mother cried over the fact that she knew something was wrong … that’s the nightmare, right there. I can’t imagine going through something like that.

While I think that if I had terminal cancer, I would want to know … all of the details … I’m not sure that I’d want to know if I had Alzheimer’s. One is just my body … and my mind would still be there throughout whatever time was left … while the other is just to awful to contemplate.

{{{ hugs }}} back to you, my dear Cathy.

—

Peace Wanda … thank you for your very kind comment! Huge hugs!

—

TJ, you said:

We aren’t strong enough, or wise enough, to hold the fate of a human life in the palm of our hands.

To ponder such things seems difficult enough.

That is the crux. I’m not at all surprised that you were able to come into here and sum things up with the wisdom which I’ve come to expect from you.

Thank you, dear Heart!

—

Wolfbaby … my dear … you sound like me. Although I second guess myself … question myself endlessly … it’s a question I don’t want to hear the answer to.

Thank you.

—

Ipanema, thank you so much for your very kind words.

Thankfully, much of our forgetfulness can be blamed on fatigue, lack of attention … and everyday distractions. I know that some of my hypertension medications make me a little numb between the ears at times. So … being forgetful doesn’t necessarily mean the worst …

The image … yes, the image struck me powerfully as soon as I finished assembling it. It’s a composite of a fraction of an image I found on the internet, and some haphazard transparent colors. I knew what I intended to do when I made it, but I wasn’t prepared for the effect it had on me when I was done. I’m not always so lucky when I experiment like that.

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