Comments on: Blog 23: The Man in the Mirror (Pt 1)

By: Fay

Fay — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 05:36:50 +0000

Yes, I agree, Matt. That loss, the loss of abstract understanding, not only deprives the person with dementia of the ability to read calendars, but also deprives him/her of the ability to “get the joke” or to comprehend the innuendo. That loss alone takes so much richness from their lives. And, when you add to that those other losses, like loss of ability to “read” reflections, we can begin to understand, a little, the awfulness of this disease.

By: Fay

Fay — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:53:33 +0000

It often worried me, Nola ….. scared me, even ….. that, as Bill lost his ability to speak, he would lose his ability to think. You and I, when we think, we think in language in our heads. We think in sentences, talk things through. I wondered whether, without words in his head, thoughts would be able to form and crystalise. But I found that, right to the end, with his brain all but gone, he was still thinking. He was still thinking, but thinking, I believe, as an nine-month old would think. So, he was pushing chairs with purpose in much the same way that a crawling baby, as yet without speech, would push a toy car down the hall. When he was in hospital in those last days, you will remember, sometimes he would copy our modelling and nibble away at his sandwich. At other times, he would demand to know where I was, and so on. What I saw told me … and maybe I’m not correct …. but it told me that the brain had not gone, had not disappeared but it had become a baby’s brain. At the time, I was able to compare Bill’s behaviour with that of our ten-month old granddaughter and I was often struck, as was her mother, by the behaviour similarities.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:05:40 +0000

The loss of abstract understanding really is a big deal. So much of our lives, feelings and experiences are in the abstract. I can’t imagine trying to live in this world only relating to the concrete. It must have been so difficult for Bill and for you Fay. Thank you for sharing your experiences and insights – they help us all to understand and cope a little better.
Matt

By: Harold and Nola

Harold and Nola — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 22:36:49 +0000

From ‘The Notebook’ by Nicholas Sparks [ a worthwhile read under these circumstances - bring the tissues, they will be used, a whole box of them. It is also an important motion picture]
‘Alzheimer’s: A barren disease, as empty and lifeless as a desert . . . the doctor was grim. He was a good man and this was hard for him.’
It is hard to imagine this disease for, where does the mind go? It is such an active part of our lives for all our lives, it is hard for a functioning mind, such as yours and mine, to imagine there being just . . . nothing . . . for nothing can take its place. This is to let you understand we understand . . . some . . . Nola and Harold.