Althouse: Hey, this is what I was going to do...

March 31, 2013

Hey, this is what I was going to do...

... if I got Alzheimer's.

36 comments:

Shouting Thomas said...: Yeah, it's coming! We're about to be snowed under by Alzheimer's diaries. I've got, maybe, 10 years before it hits in full.

I'm focusing on enjoying the interregnum. For the first time in decades I'm free from the bitter, hated tyranny of feminist women in the office world. Freedom! I don't have to kowtow to the garbage S&M battle feminist women worship, or self-censor myself for survival. I can play music in peace.

For a short period, I am granted the grace to be a free range male.

Once the Alzheimer's hits, the feminist nurse women will control my body again. Back to prison.; 3/31/13, 9:53 AM
sakredkow said...: For the first time in decades I'm free from the bitter, hated tyranny of feminist women in the office world.

Man someone must have kicked you in the gonads good. That's too bad.; 3/31/13, 10:01 AM
ricpic said...: The guy's got Alzheimer's, knows he's got Alzheimer's and goes out driving. Talk about selfish.; 3/31/13, 10:04 AM
Shouting Thomas said...: Man someone must have kicked you in the gonads good.

If only the feminist women carried out their reign of S&M terror in such direct ways!

No, the torture is conducted within a maze of feigned caring and compassion, which is precisely why it is almost impossible to combat.

The only way out of that spider's web is... out.; 3/31/13, 10:04 AM
edutcher said...: You will find the alternate realities a lot of fun, I think.

Then again, there's a lot of study in the progress of dementia, so we may not have to worry.

Of course, we could all end up sharing a barracks on Dachau-on-the-Brazos, too.; 3/31/13, 10:06 AM
edutcher said...: ricpic said...

The guy's got Alzheimer's, knows he's got Alzheimer's and goes out driving. Talk about selfish.

Talk about stupid.

Although, I've seen a lot of older people who will fight like Hell to keep that one last vestige of autonomy when they know they shouldn't be out on the raod.; 3/31/13, 10:08 AM
madAsHell said...: My father also became aware that his mental faculties were failing. He shook my hand several times to say "Goodbye, take care of your mother".

He had firearms hidden in the house. My usual response was "I will, Dad. Don't make a mess!".

We finally put him in an assisted living home. One of the hardest things I've ever done. He'd call on the telephone, and ask me to bring him home. After six weeks in the home, he caught a cold/flu, and died of pneumonia.

That was six years ago. Thankfully, my mother is still in her own home, and quite lucid.; 3/31/13, 10:16 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Finally, I understand Shouting Thomas.

I might enjoy his comments more in this light.; 3/31/13, 10:21 AM
Anonymous said...: ST, women don't hate you. Women don't want to control you.

Put down the spear.

There is no war, unless it's the one in your head.; 3/31/13, 10:45 AM
bagoh20 said...: A reminder that it's not how smart you are, or how many books you have read, or where you have traveled in the end. It's what you did with that for others that lasts. Life needs to be, and should be enjoyed to the fullest with a big dollop of selfishness - you really can't help it anyway, but we should all try to fix something, mend something, plant something, and build something that will outlasts us and help the next generation do the same.; 3/31/13, 10:52 AM
bagoh20 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/31/13, 10:54 AM
edutcher said...: Ann Althouse said...

Finally, I understand Shouting Thomas.

I might enjoy his comments more in this light.

As I said, you'll find some of those alternate realities a lot of fun.

Inga said...

ST, women don't hate you. Women don't want to control you.

Put down the spear.

There is no war, unless it's the one in your head.

War on Women ring a bell?

The She Devil of the SS isn't hearing those voices this Easter Sunday.

Alleluia!

PS Here's a better use for that focacta avatar.; 3/31/13, 10:56 AM
bagoh20 said...: I think I was born with Alzheimer's. I've always been like that.

And I just proved it by needing to rewrite this comment:; 3/31/13, 10:57 AM
Anonymous said...: "A reminder that it's not how smart you are, or how many books you have read, or where you have traveled in the end. It's what you did with that for others that lasts. Life needs to be, and should be enjoyed to the fullest with a big dollop of selfishness - you really can't help it anyway, but we should all try to fix something, mend something, plant something, and build something that will outlasts us and help the next generation do the same."

3/31/13, 10:52 AM

Now you're talkin'. But I'll take mine with a smaller dollop of selfishness and it will taste just as good, better maybe.

Happy Easter, y'all! I'm going to have Easter dinner with my daughters new in laws, enjoy a brand new baby boy, and the sun is shining..... "clear and bright". Make love, not war.; 3/31/13, 11:05 AM
Ann Althouse said...: I wonder how many commenters here are in some stage of Alzheimer's!

It might be worth keeping that possibility in mind. I'm going to do that. It's important for people to keep a place in the conversation, even as they are losing their wits. We don't know who is disabled here.

If you believe someone is not mentally challenged, you may think nothing of calling him an idiot or demented.

But some people really have brain deficiencies. We ought to think about that.

There but for the grace of God...; 3/31/13, 11:08 AM
Mark said...: No, there many of us WILL go eventually. Long life gives greater opportunity for Dementia disorders to manifest.

It need not be frightening, but it is no joke. My mom was diagnosed with a different progressive brain disease (dementia related, like Alz) less than a year ago and it has brought home how fast it can all go downhill.

We all like to think we can avoid it, but it doesn't work like that. If you have something nice to say or do for someone, do it today. Yesterday is just a (failing) memory. Tomorrow is never what its supposed to be. Today is all you got.; 3/31/13, 11:19 AM
bagoh20 said...: I think what S.T. is saying is that it's a lot like this:

For your own good; 3/31/13, 11:20 AM
bagoh20 said...: "But some people really have brain deficiencies. We ought to think about that."

Hey, that was uncalled for. I didn't bring up your 2008 vote.; 3/31/13, 11:22 AM
Cody Jarrett said...: Inga said...

ST, women don't hate you. Women don't want to control you.

Put down the spear.

There is no war, unless it's the one in your head.

All due respect, Inga--you're not a man. You don't actually know.; 3/31/13, 11:38 AM
bagoh20 said...: "Now you're talkin'. But I'll take mine with a smaller dollop of selfishness and it will taste just as good, better maybe."

I think everyone is about 327.5% more selfish than they imagine themselves to be, but it's OK. Just don't waste it - that's like feeling guilty about enjoying sex. Go buy yourself something nice - someone feeds their family by making it for you, and they do it proudly and honestly. How you gonna beat that?; 3/31/13, 11:40 AM
bagoh20 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 3/31/13, 11:44 AM
bagoh20 said...: I have pledged to never buy anything that is advertised by sticking it in front of a Youtube video. Sidebar ads are fine, but that waiting for ads crap just to see a few second of video every single time is ridiculous. I will never buy your product if you advertise that way. I don't care you're selling Viagra hand delivered by strippers for a nickle.; 3/31/13, 11:46 AM
edutcher said...: Ann Althouse said...

I wonder how many commenters here are in some stage of Alzheimer's!

My mother died of it; her brothers died too young to see if there was a chance it ran in the family.

One of the reasons I brave the hurly-burly of Althouse is I think the give-and-take of the comments keeps my mind a little sharper.

Inga said...

Now you're talkin'. But I'll take mine with a smaller dollop of selfishness and it will taste just as good, better maybe.

Happy Easter, y'all!

Now she's all redneck on us. What happened to the She Devil from Osterreich?; 3/31/13, 12:01 PM
Temujin said...: ST, do not turn your back on Inga. Just sayin...

As for the rest of you...um...I...don't really remember what I was going to say.

Seriously, though, I wonder if we're all so inundated with electronic stuff coming at us all the time, that it's just literally split our concentration into little small micro-moments. Micro-moments where we, for an instant, take note of something, then dismiss it.

I walk intro rooms sometimes these days and forget why I went in there. How much do I have going on in my head that I cannot recall why I walked into a particular room?

I forget words, descriptive words, frequently now. Yet, even as I write this, I have music playing next to me, a TV on in the background, half-way listening to the Black Hawks and Red Wings. WTF....no wonder I cannot keep a thought. Feel like Harrison Bergeron most of the day.; 3/31/13, 12:02 PM
bagoh20 said...: In a post about Alzheimer's, I've made a typo in very single comment.
Q.E.F.; 3/31/13, 12:02 PM
Petunia said...: "Y'all" is singular. The plural is "all y'all".; 3/31/13, 12:15 PM
Titus said...: My dad has alzheimers and he still drives. He drives to the legion, his farm, his cottage and the casino.

My mom and I constantly talk about taking the keys away. If that would happen he would go completely insane and make my mothers life miserable. Yes, it is selfish and stupid of him.

They just got a 10 million dollar insurance policy so when he hits someone they won't lose all their money. Sad.; 3/31/13, 12:15 PM
Theranter said...: "chemo brain" which I have, has some parallels to Altzheimer's.

He is not a danger driving. We don't forget how to walk or drive--we are as proficient as ever at those tasks.

We just don't remember where the hell we're going!

Like a lot of you.

And Inga, you are further proof of the Altzheimer-ish mental faculties of the left, your "unawareness" is just as deep, but theirs is organic, whereas yours is a product of brainwashing via propaganda. You really need to stay off twitter.

No war on men my ass.

And I'm a chick!; 3/31/13, 2:33 PM
Julie C said...: I would be very uneasy about someone with Alzheimer's driving. People with dementia have problems with depth perception for example. Vision worsens, or they don't even realize they have a vision problem.

ST, don't worry. There will be very few actual nurses to take care of you. Just lovely immigrant men and women who get paid very little. And they won't be controlling your body. And neither will you, sadly. I'm not saying that to be mean. People seem to gloss over all the really bad stuff that happens with dementia patients.

One time, my mother (when she still lived at home) picked up a steaming pile of dog poop in the living room (because of course the dog they had was also old and starting to lose it) before anyone could stop her and walked over with it, steaming and stinking in her hands, saying, "What is this? What is this?"

Or you pick up a fork, and think it's a comb. Or you know what it's for but you just can't seem to get that fork to actually make it to your mouth.

FWIW, the women in the Memory Care units outnumber the men by 20 to 1 at least. So there's that.; 3/31/13, 4:13 PM
William said...: I've had a few memory lapses, but then I was always absent minded. So there's nothing to worry about....I've read that the way people usually deal with the onset of Alz. is by denial. So maybe my thinking it's just absent mindedness is itself a symptom of Alzheimer's. Is it possible for a demented brain to accurately judge the onset and progress of its dementia.....I eat lots of bbq. I'm hoping that will kill me before the other stuff.; 3/31/13, 9:22 PM
Nini said...: Use the spice turmeric regularly when cooking.

It is claimed that curcumin, the principal substance in turmeric can have a positive effect in preventing onset or slowing the effect of alzheimer.

From wiki: A study found that curcumin shrank the size of plaques and reduced neurite dystrophy in an Alzheimer mouse model.; 3/31/13, 9:26 PM
Nini said...: I remember reading in Time magazine about a study in which they found that the brains of a group of nuns had fewer plaques if they had been mentality active during the period of the study.

Mental stimulation like reading, thinking, writing and maybe doing sodoku or crossword puzzles etc are beneficial.; 3/31/13, 9:41 PM
Anonymous said...: @Theranter, I don't tweet.; 3/31/13, 9:49 PM
Stephen Taylor said...: I read that story from start to finish. At no point was there an inkling that an alternate way out is at hand for anyone with a little courage. Suicide, or whatever fancy word we use to deny the reality of such an escape, is certainly the option I'd choose in the event of Alzheimer's. I will not go gently into that good night. I will blow my brains out or ingest some combination of chemicals and go quietly to sleep before I become dependent on others, or ruin the life of my wife. I will not accept the long decline of my faculties, and have discussed this option at length with my wife. She would do the same if given such a diagnosis.

He and his wife just assume that he'll end up in a nursing home, that their wife savings will be spent paying someone to wipe his ass, that he must simply endure until his brain forgets how to breathe and his heart how to pump.

Why does it have to be this way? Why can't we even discuss the option of suicide in cases like these? Where is the dignity in dying in some nursing home?

I have decided that there are some thresholds that I will not be willing to cross. Adult diapers. Zimmer frames. Dementia. The first two are maybe's, while the last is a definite. I may add to this list as I age, but dignity and the ability to control my life, and my surroundings, and my agenda are absolutely paramount to my existence.; 4/1/13, 10:16 PM
Nini said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 4/2/13, 4:04 AM
Nini said...: If am terminally sick, I'll let nature take it's course,of course with help from the medical profession. I know enough to know that when I will be at my weakest my relatives will be there for me.

If I have alzheimer's that would be the greatest test for me-- if I can turn inward and know the "self", despite the circumstances.

Even today, I was talking to my ex-husband about death as his brother in Santa Barbara has terminal cancer. Prognosis is that he only has one year to live. We were thinking how a person, who knew he can die any minute now, must feel. My ex-husband remarked that he might even go ahead of his brother if it was his "lucky day". He has this resignation which I share and I think in some ways he is brave indeed.

Aside from taxes, the only thing certain in life is death.

Our son who at present is visiting him said that he still had the fighting spirit and his sickness did not prevent him from driving him to nice places nearby and enjoy the day. He is such an inspiration.; 4/2/13, 4:16 AM