What Do I Say?

I was asked recently “What do I say to my Mother when she asks me who I am? “ Wow, that just about took my breath away. Alzheimer’s and other dementias are robbing people of their grandparents, their parents, their spouses, and other loved ones in their lives. When Ronald Reagan announced in 1994 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, I felt sorry for him but just felt that….“well, he’s old”.  Then a couple of years ago, Pat Summit, who coached the Lady Vols basketball team for Tennessee, announced that she also had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s — early-onset. She was 59 years old at the time!

The Alzheimer’s Association has an article on their website (alz.org) that states that nearly 4 percent of the more than 5 millions people affected by Alzheimer’s in America are under the age of 65. I did the math, four percent of five million equals is two hundred thousand!! To re-emphasize—that would be—4% of 5,000,000 =200,000!! This is the number just for America. Healthyliving.msn.com put out a report by HealthDay that has some rather frightening global numbers. The title is 135 Million People Worldwide Will Have Dementia by 2050. http://healthyliving.msn.com/health-wellness/aging/135-million-people-worldwide-will-have-dementia-by-2050-report  I won’t detail the report for you, I think the title is shocking enough. One more little tidbit on this subject—those 135 million people who will be affected by dementia in 2050 are currently at least 28 years old (if they’re diagnosed at 65 years old). Younger if they’re diagnosed with early-onset dementia!

So you can see that there is a good chance that Alzheimer’s or some form of dementia, will affect someone you know, maybe someone very near/dear to you. There are no satisfactory answers to the question that was posed. My suggestion to this person was to access the support that is available. I have already cited the resource, Alzheimer’s Association earlier in this blog. Here are a couple more:

 http://www.agingcare.com/Articles/alzheimers-parent-does-not-recognize-family-144197.htm

 http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/guide/improving-communication

 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/alzheimers/AZ00004

There is NO SHAME in asking for help!! No one can prepare themselves for having a parent ask who they are!

Jane Murakami

Golden Years Planning

(507) 403-3875

Www.goldenyearsinfo.com