Wednesday, March 11, 2015

I'm Getting There

When the movie, Still Alice, was released recently I wasn't sure I could watch it. In the last few weeks, however, I found I really wanted to see how this story was portrayed on the big screen.  I was thrilled that Julianne Moore won an Oscar playing this role because we need more awareness of Early Onset AD.  The plot really hits home when a 50 year old college professor develops Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease. The events of the movie certainly bore some similarities to Billy's experiences - getting lost in a place you've lived and worked for decades, asking the same question over and over again without realizing he had asked it two minutes before, losing nouns when making sentences, ordering whatever I ordered in a restaurant because he no longer remembered what he liked...the list goes on. 

In the movie, the Howards are an affluent family - Alice and her husband, John, are recognized college professors at Columbia University. They have three adult children - one in law school, one in med school, and the youngest is a struggling actress. While EOAD is no respecter of class, most of the people I have met who are dealing with this disease are middle class folks who worry a great deal about the financial consequences of this disease.  We were a two income family, and losing one of those incomes was major for us. Alice and John don't seem to miss a beat in paying for their children's educations and maintaining their second home on the Cape. I know the movie didn't have the time to show the entire scope of the disease, but I wonder if it leaves people feeling that a person is diagnosed and ends up being mostly forgetful and confused and sad. The movie is well-written, well-acted, and well-meaning.  It's a beginning, but there is so much more to the story. 

I'm out of school for Spring Break this week which allows me to spend more time with Billy. I've gone to see him at various times which is nice, too.  I was pretty low after seeing him Monday and Tuesday because he was so flat and sleepy. He hardly opened his eyes either day, but today was better. He was wide eyed and focused on me a few times.  He smiled at me, and that helps so much. We had Billy's three month care plan meeting today, and it offered another dose of reality for me. In the last month Billy has lost 6 more pounds - 8 pounds lost the month before. At 6'1" he weighs 154 pounds with a BMI of 20.3.  If the BMI drops to 18.5 he is considered underweight, and the hospice nurse wanted to let me know that we could do a feeding tube.  I have strong feelings against a feeding tube or an IV for a loved one dying. The natural process of dying involves loss of appetite and thirst. I recently watched a video by a hospice nurse who describes the labor of dying.  It confirmed what I had read and heard before, and it helped me understand the process better. Thank you, Kathy Lowrey for sending me the link.

In these many years of EOAD, I've held on to Billy as tight as possible. Alzheimer's Disease is fatal 100% of the time. Some progress slowly - some quickly, and some have major changes followed by plateaus.  That is how I would describe Billy's journey.  At this time, it is clear to me that the end is coming much faster than I am ready, but I'm getting there. It hurts deeply to see Billy so weak and frail, eyes searching for something, hands reaching for something, his body rigid and tremors taking over at times.  Then he sees me, makes a connection and smiles. That tells me he's not ready to go just yet, or Jesus isn't ready for him, but when the hand reaches down and takes him home, my heart will rejoice that this is over for him. Don't mistake that joy for lack of grief or sadness.  I miss Billy every single day, and when I can no longer kiss his head or hold his hand, a part of me will die, too. But to know that he is free and whole - that's worth my dying a little. 

8 comments:

  1. thank you for sharing :)

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  2. For those people who's relative are Alzheimer’s Disease sufferer and maybe reading this, I find it hard that people are still ignorant of herbal medicine when it comes to treating Alzheimer’s Disease.
    I have been through many phases over the last couple of years since my father's diagnosis, he was 53 years old and had Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease and his diagnosis changed my life in many ways, I spend most of the time in denial and I keep thinking the tests were wrong. But deep down I knew they were correct. Though sharing his story is very difficult. He was always very successful in being able to accomplish anything he set his mind on doing. Alzheimer’s is a bitch of a disease. It began by robbing his recent memory, but it didn't stop there. It continues to steal, taking the most recent memories until it has pilfered all but the oldest memories, he experienced a decline in his ability to think, remember and make decisions. I feel a need to express my thoughts and feelings about how it affected his day to day living and how its deteriorated since despite the help of some wonderful medics and medicine.
    I remind myself how lucky to come across Charanjit rychtova's herbal medicine which is able to control this disease without any side effect, I felt a moment of relief hoping that he is free from this ailment, and nothing compares to the healing power of nature. Now I believe almost every health problem can be addressed in one natural way or another. The only thing I wanted was for him to feel better. I’m proud to say my Dad is Alzheimer’s free. You can also contact him for more info. at charantova@gmail.com

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  3. This is a great write up, I was also a victim, having Alzheimer's disease for many years. My journey and diagnosis with Alzheimer's disease began when I was 58 years old. My medical condition was heart broken. The first thing I did was get myself informed. I was subjected to different medications including Donepezil, galantamine, by my doctors for treatment without the assurance of having a positive improvement. Despite my visit to several doctors my health wasn't getting better. Also I keep thinking there has to be another alternative to address this, using herbal remedy, this information reinforced my original gut feelings that I should not give up. I decided to look for another option to help my condition. I’ve made many lifelong friends when I was looking for a natural cure for my ailment. To say it gets better is an understatement. I find hope in the darkest of days when I saw a testimony of people talking about Dr. Charanjit's herbal product. I started having series of thoughts, thereafter I ordered his product and started using it, to give the Alzheimer's disease an aggressive approach, the symptoms progressively got better.
    Luckily, everything seemed to be okay after a few weeks of starting the herbs, this was a pleasant surprise. I promised myself that I would stay strong. You sit living in fear of the reality what you may face, never really knowing what will happen until it does. I am indebted and decided to always share my experience.
    If you have same problem and ready to give a try check out his blog: https://curetoalzheimer.blogspot.com/ or contact him through charantova@gmail.com.

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  4. Having Dementia disease knocked my grandma off her life and had her living like a mad person, I did know how the better part of her life eluded her, my mind was completely splatted in two, She showed a severe decline in her mental and cognitive skills in the last few years of her life and her quality of life had deteriorated greatly in the last 3 years of life where she was mostly bedridden. I am very glad my partner sought help and now she is free from all signs of psychosis. She was healed through the herbal medicines from Dr Charanjit, I do not wish to go the same route and I manage to live a fairly active and healthy lifestyle.
    Here are her words "Finally, can you imagine what it would feel like to be NORMAL again, like I were before I was struck down by this horrible condition that you never asked for, and don’t deserve?" Sounds great doesn't it?
    You can contact him via email charantova@gmail.com He is well known for his groundbreaking treatments concerning the brain and mind issues.

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  6. Here is a great herbal doctor who cured me of Hepatitis B. his name is Dr. Imoloa. I suffered Hepatitis B for 11 years, I was very weak with pains all over my body my stomach was swollen and I could hardly eat. And one day my brother came with a herbal medicine from doctor Imoloa and asked me to drink and I drank hence there was no hope, and behold after 2 week of taking the medicine, I started feeling relief, my swollen stomach started shrinking down and the pains was gone. I became normal after the completion of the medication, I went to the hospital and I was tested negative which means I’m cured. He can also cure the following diseases with his herbal medicine...lupus, hay fever, measles, dry cough, diabetics hepatitis A.B.C, mouth ulcer, mouth cancer, bile salt disease, fol ate deficinecy, diarrhoea, liver/kidney inflammatory, eye cancer, skin cancer disease, malaria, chronic kidney disease, high blood pressure, food poisoning, parkinson disease, bowel cancer, bone cancer, brain tumours, asthma, arthritis, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, lyme disease, muscle aches, cholera, fatigue, muscle aches, shortness of breath, alzhemer's disease, acute myeloid leukaemia, acute pancreatitis, chronic inflammatory joint disease, Addison's disease back acne, breast cancer, allergic bronchitis, Celia disease, bulimia, congenital heart disease, cirrhosis, constipation, fungal nail infection, fabromyalgia, (love spell) and many more. he is a great herbalist man. Contact him on email; drimolaherbalmademedicine@gmail.com. You can also reach him on whatssap- +2347081986098.

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  7. My name is hoover, my 18 years old daughter, Tricia was diagnosed of herpes 3 years ago. ever since then,we have been going from one hospital to the other. We tried all sorts of pills but all efforts to get rid of the virus was futile. The blisters kept on reappearing after some months. My daughter was making use of Acyclovir tablets 200mg. 2 tablets every 6hours and fusitin cream 15grams. and H5 POT. Permanganate with water to be applied 2x a day but all still show no result. So I was on the internet some months back, to sought for any other means of saving my only child. just then, i came across a comment on dr imoloa herbal treatment and decided to give it a try. i contacted the him and he prepared some herbs and sent it to me together with guidelines on how to use the herbs through DHL courier service. my daughter used it as directed dr imoloa and in less than 14days, my daughter regained her health.. You should contact Dr imoloa today directly on his email address for any kind of health challenge; lupus disease,  mouth ulcer,  mouth cancer, body pain, fever, hepatitis A.B.C.,   syphilis,  diarrhea,  HIV/AIDS,  Huntington's Disease,   back acne,  Chronic renal failure,   addison disease,  Chronic Pain,   Crohn's Disease,   Cystic Fibrosis,  Fibromyalgia,   Inflammatory Bowel Disease,  fungal nail disease, Lyme Disease, Celia disease, Lymphoma, Major Depression,  Malignant Melanoma,   Mania,  Melorheostosis,   Meniere's Disease,  Mucopolysaccharidosis , Multiple Sclerosis,  Muscular Dystrophy,  Rheumatoid Arthritis, Alzheimer's Disease, parkison disease, vaginal cancer, epilepsy,  Anxiety Disorders, Autoimmune Disease,   Back Pain,  Back Sprain,   Bipolar Disorder,  Brain Tumour,  Malignant,   Bruxism, Bulimia,  Cervical Disk Disease, cardiovascular disease, Neoplasms, chronic respiratory disease,  mental and behavioural disorder,     Cystic Fibrosis,   Hypertension, Diabetes, asthma,  Inflammatory autoimmune-mediated arthritis.  chronic kidney disease, inflammatory joint disease,  impotence,  feta alcohol spectrum,  Dysthymic Disorder,   Eczema, tuberculosis,  Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, constipation, inflammatory bowel disease.  and many more; contact him on email- drimolaherbalmademedicine@gmail.com./ also on  whatssap-+2347081986098.

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  8.  I was initially very hesitant to discuss my Alzheimer but i just hope it can still help someone. I feel this will be very important information for all Alzheimer patients, because the most violent element in society today is ignorance. Be it any condition, a healthy diet and natural medicine is a road to fast recovery. I had suffered Alzheimer for many years, I fought for proper medical care and all form of humane treatment with little improvement I went through many sleepless nights and periods of intense grief, as do most families. I was recommended by a friend to use ZOMO herbs for my Alzheimer with high hope and assurance. I finally feel my illness is gone with no more symptoms. Doc email ID charantova@gmail.com

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