 |
|
I am not here anymore. Somewhere else is where I am. A place so hard to find, you cannot see me here or visit me there or wish me out of this anywhere. If this is where I am supposed to be, why can't I find me? -Joanne Koenig Coste |
 |
From "Learning to Speak Alzheimer's" by Joanne Koenig Coste:
Beth arrived for her doctor's appointment two hours late-and terrified. "I can't remember the day, or month, or sometimes even the year," she sputtered. "What's happening to me? Am I losing my mind? Am I crazy?"
Her physician, trying to offer reassurance, said, "You're seventy, Beth. What do you expect? You can't perform like a twenty-year-old anymore."
Like all of us, Beth wanted to perform as she always had, regardless of her age. A serious decline in mood, cognition, or functional behavior is not a normal part of aging; it indicates an underlying medical problem.
According to the National Alzheimer's Association, Alzheimer's disease has ten warning signs:
Other conditions that can appear to be Alzheimer's disease include the following:
