Our son P. and I talked about many things driving home from his school--his Thanksgiving vacation started yesterday. At one point he asked the name of John's illness. He did have the idea it was like Parkinson's with Alzheimer's. I said that is a good first approximation, but having trouble thinking can take different forms. Alzheimers is most of all memory loss, so the person asks you the same question over and over again. Then there is one called Fronto-Temporal Dementia where the person acts inappropriately. Lewy Body Dementia starts with problems with excecutive function, difficulty with planning and organizing and managing anything complicated.
P. said while it is hard for me to try to do everything, that seemed better than having to answer the same question over and over again or deal with inappropriate behavior. And I said yes. I hadn't thought about it that way.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
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As someone who answers the same questions over and over again from a sufferer of post-stroke syndrome complete with severe short-term memory loss, I can say your son has offered a wise observation. There are times when I think I will go out of my mind from the sheer frustration of the repetition.
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