Published: November 02, 2007 04:04 pm            

REFLECTIONS: Dreading a descent into darkness

Every night, just after dinner, when I can, I steal about a half an hour for myself. I sit and do nothing but the puzzles in the newspaper. It might be selfish, but I am somewhat addicted to the effects. I think of nothing else but solving those puzzles. My mind is free of any other thought. It is my down time, a de-stressor of some sort. I like the sudoku and the cryptoquip puzzles. Over time, I have gotten pretty good at solving them quickly. I also try the crossword puzzle, but have yet to fully complete one of them. I started the crossword about a year ago when a friend mentioned that the brain function needed to solve them could help fight the development of Alzheimer’s Disease. Years ago, I learned of this devastating disease and have since been terrified to develop it.

I have witnessed the sadness and desolation when family members suffer from Alzheimer’s. A friend, Dana, whose mom died a year ago this week, religiously visited her in a nursing home, only to be faced with the heartbreaking fact that her Mother didn’t know the woman who sat at her bed side each night to talk and hold her hand. She was only “the nice lady with the red hair.” Another friend, Melinda, is currently helping her father care for her Alzheimer’s-affected mother, who was diagnosed at the age of 58. Eight years later, her mother is down to 85 lb. and has forgotten how to swallow. Melinda is exhausted and overwhelmed with the task of caring for her own children as well, and feels very alone. My mom cares for a once-vibrant and intelligent woman who now sobs and wails uncontrollably and sits and stares at nothing for hours at a time.

Currently, Alzheimer’s disease affects five million Americans. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, that number could skyrocket to as high as 16 million by the year 2050. Every 72 seconds, someone is diagnosed with the disease and more than $148 billion dollars is spent annually in direct and indirect health care for Alzheimer’s patients. Presently there is no known cause and no known cure. Continued research is necessary to gain understanding and develop a possible defense. In January 2006, the Bush Administration cut funding for Alzheimer’s research. Perhaps they haven’t witnessed the suffering associated with Alzheimer’s.

A diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease is a death sentence, the worst kind of death. Once identified, Alzheimer’s patients can suffer between three to 20 years, depending on the stage of the disease, their age and health status. It is a journey to forgetting. It begins with slight unnoticeable memory problems, like forgetting where you put things or forgetting important appointments and it travels to a point where you forget the very life you have built with your family and friends. It progresses to a time when your scrapbook will look like the scrapbook of the life of strangers. Eventually, you will lose your ability to function at work or home, until you will need constant, around the clock care, at first, to be sure you don’t burn down the house or wander off and lose your way; then to feed and bathe and clothe you. Your behavior may change so your loved ones will not recognize nor understand the person you have become just as you won’t recognize those who you have been closest to you in your life-your spouse, your children, your siblings and friends. It is a sentence that dictates that your mind will deteriorate to the point that you will forget how to eat, how to move your muscles and eventually how to breathe. It is the worst of all inhumanities. And it petrifies me.

Some research indicates a direct link between brain health and heart health. That’s why it makes sense, for a number of reasons, to keep your weight, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar at the recommended levels. I have also read that B-6 and B-12 vitamins might have a positive effect on the nerve endings in the brain. And, although it has not been proven (nothing to date has been proven to fight against the development of Alzheimer’s) it makes sense to increase your intake of omega 3 fatty acids and foods rich in anti-oxidants.

The one certain thing is that there is a genetic link associated with the development of Alzheimer’s. You are at greater risk if someone in your family has been diagnosed. For some of us, that might be impossible to tell, as some of our parents died well before they would have shown any signs of Alzheimer’s. For now, I will watch over my friends, Dana and Melinda, to recognize the early signs of their possible demise. Not that anything can stop it, but treatment at an earlier stage can prolong the descent. In the meantime, I will continue to exercise my mind with the crossword puzzle every day and worry every time I forget where I put my keys.

Linda Crist is a member of the Greater Niagara Newspapers advertising staff and a Grand Island resident.

        

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