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I would pursue a cure for Alzheimer’s disease

Blog City PROMPT FOR WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2011: If I were free to pursue absolutely any interest I wanted, what would I choose and why? DEADLINE: Friday, October 14th at 7:00 p.m. WDC time (4:00 PM Pacific Time).

If I were free to pursue any interest I wanted, I would pursue a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. I would do this because, in my experience, Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most, if not the most, devastating diseases I have ever encountered. It affects the entire family and not just the individual suffering from this form of dementia.

I watched my Grandfather Newland die of lung cancer. At the time, I thought it was the most devastating disease I had encountered and perhaps it was at the time. However, since the doctor diagnosed my mother with Alzheimer’s I have come to realize that this disease is the most devastating because it robs the patient of independence and memory.

The Alzheimer’s suffer repeats herself without realizing she has said the same thing only moments before. The sufferer becomes angry and violent when caregivers attempt to help her bath or in toiletry functions. The sufferer forgets the present and the past, eventually even her own family members.

In my mother’s case, she has forgotten her 90th birthday, which occurred March 19, 2011. She has forgotten attending my grandparents’ funerals and their burial place. Sometime Mom does not remember who I am, these are rare moments right now, but eventually it will become permanent. My mother can no longer safely cook for herself.

Sometimes, Mom realizes something is wrong; especially when she cannot find the words she needs to express herself. Slowly our positions have reversed. She has become the daughter and I the mother. At this point, she can still use the pull up disposable undergarments, but I do not know how long this will last. I know that eventually, I will change her diaper and she changed mine when I was a baby.