welcome to the organic green doctor blog

i am a family physician who was diagnosed with
early mild cognitive impairment(mci) amnestic type on december 21, 2010
this is a precursor to alzheimers disease
because of this diagnosis i have opted to stop practicing medicine
this blog will be about my journey with this disease
please feel free to follow me along this path
i will continue blogging on organic gardening, green living,
solar power, rainwater collection, and healthy living
i will blog on these plus other things noted to be interesting

Friday, October 28, 2011

my younger brother he

MY YOUNGER BROTHER HE
my rain water brother he and i will be visiting my younger brother he
today
havent written much about him in the past
he is progressing through a health problem that i did not want to
write about without permission from him and his family

i am glad am able to write about him now as he is part of this
alzheimers picture that i may have to deal with

he has alzheimers disease
he was diagnosed several years ago and has gradually progressed
with his disease

he is the mirror at which i see myelf in the future
i just dont know how long that will be
im hoping that some of the things im doing will slow the process
down some for a period of time

what may help
controlling blood pressure and lipids
exercise
maintaining a normal weight
maintaining a normal diet and or a
mediteranean diet
being socially active
moderate alchohol intake
controlling diabetes
no smoking
staying mentally active
listening to music or playing a muscial instrument
limiting stress
getting adequate sleep

taking aricept
maybe taking axona (smart powder) (alzheimers milkshake) ??
omega 3 fish oil
maybe tumeric acid (curcumin)
maybe vitamin d

although none of this will prevent the disease it may slow slow
slow slow it down some
so i can enjoy the next few years

here is the face of alzheimers disease
my younger brother he was the youngest of 5 boys
you know what his earlier life was like
he was always good at defending himself
(except for the time his white on white brother hit him with the piece
off the plow and blooded his face and made him get a lot of stiches
-you can still see the scar-)

he survived his child hood eventually
he spent years as a fireman and retired in his forties
he then worked for several years as a deputy sheriff until his
retirement from that job
he had two drug dogs that traveled with him in remote areas of
southern arkansas
he and the dogs arrested a lot dealers
they were involved in the rescue of a child once who was lost in a
wooden area thanks to the ability of the dogs he had trained
it would get calls frequently to travel to help look for a lost person or
an escaped prisoner
the prisoners usually gave up when the dogs caught them
those who did not suffered if they tried to fight with the dogs
dogs always won

after his retirement was when things began to unravel
i remember having him help me move my mom from her apartment to
the nursing home
he had difficulty getting the chairs through the door and got lost driving to
the nursing home

it was about this time he had an evlauation and was diagnosed with
alzheimers disease and was placed on aricept
the same medication  im on and the same medication our mother was on

his disease has progressed now faster recently it seems
this is such a sad disease
here is a fireman deputy sheriff who built his own house once and who
could take a car motor apart and put it back together
and now
it has difficulties just doing his daily activities at home

he has two daughers and has 3 grand children who love him
his wife works full time and also has started the difficult job of
being a caretaker
the caretakers always get forgotten in all of this

they are lucky in that they live in a small community where people
can help and are usually willing to help
it seems to be part of the culture and nature there to do that
many people with this disease get isolated socially
its less likely to happen there as much as in other places

but it does happen though as
people are afraid of this disease and dont want to look it in the eyes

it is such a sad disease
it devastates the person and his family both emotionally and eventually
financially

one thing ive learned through all this is to seize the moment
the moment is today when we get to see him and spend the day with
his family
whether he knows me and my rain water brother doesnt really matter
just that he knows that we were there today to visit him

sieze the moment before it passes

we love you my younger brother he who doesnt deserve this
terrible disease thrust on him and his family

the organicgreen doctor :(

2 comments:

  1. It's hard to see any silver lining in this, isn't it? It is such a shame that with so many wonderful family memories your youngest brother isn't able to share in them anymore. I hope you fellows have a good visit and enjoy the moments you can. Thank you so much for sharing this journey. ~ Jenn Gonzalez

    ReplyDelete
  2. I appreciate you!

    Sue

    ReplyDelete