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

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

my story revisited #50-another neurology appointment

MY STORY REVISITED #50-ANOTHER NEUROLOGY APPOINTMENT
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when wrote that blog over 8 years ago i wasnt sure what i would be like in 2020
if you had asked me i would have probably said that i would be in the throes of early alzheimers disease no longer driving no longer doing my blog no longer traveling no longer doing our finances no longer doing those things that folks usually do every day
well
here i am 8 years later still doing all those things
sorry i dont even try to look 10 years ahead now

the covid 19 pandemic has changed all of that
i still write my blog regularly
we have no plans to travel until the threat of the covid 19 is all gone
i realize that our traveling days may be done for

you can read in the old blog posted below that we were staying busy
we traveled several times a year to california to visit our family and did several summer trips including our annual family reunions and trips to the western us eg grand canyon southern utah etc

i was about to start a several years course of volunteering for habitat for humanity and for meals on wheels

my how covid 19 has stopped all that
we try to limit our exposure to the virus as much as we can
our lives stay busy though

i try to go to my garden every day especially during the veggie growing season
keeping my shadow in the garden every day

i also volunteer at least 3 days a week in the community garden for 2-3 hours at a time
this has helped me rebuild my stamina back
eg
i recently was able to haul mulch in a larger container up a steep hill several times the other day
not long ago i couldnt even go up the hill once without a container

we spend more time helping out with or grandkids than in the past since mr hudson requires a restricted environment and limited exposure to people

my volunteer time with the alzheimers organizations has stopped for now

so even though the covid 19 has changed what we all do a lot we stay busy
i have recovered a lot from being sick this spring and am getting closer to where i was presickness

we have a new normal now
we have learned to live with it
im just glad to be alive and able to function as a normal cognitive person
something when i wrote that blog below i didnt think i would be still writing my blog today
________
01-22-2012
ANOTHER NEUROLOGY APPOINTMENT
well its time again
i have to go back for my 6 month follow up with the neurologist
this visit i dont mind
its usually in and out
how you doing
tap tap on the knee
refill the prescription
see you in 6 months

its been 15 months since ive been officially diagnosed with
mild cognitive impairment amnestic type
thought to be possibly due to alzheimers disease
only time will tell for sure if thats accurate

during that 15 months i may have noticed a subtle change but on
all those neuropsychological tests ive had over that time period
there has been no significant changes
thats like a cancer patient getting a negative pet scan
its reassuring

but as i know this can remain stable for awhile then take off
like it has with my younger brother
he sure has progressed during these last 15 months
he has gone from driving himself to now not driving himself
not getting himself dressed and requiring 24/7 monitoring
i think about him a lot and wonder if ill be like him and when
the decline will happen

but i have to continue to move forward and accept the fact that
i really dont know what will happen
only time will tell

i am doing all the things you and someone like me needs to do to
prevent or slow down the disease
exercise, control blood pressure,control lipids, maintain my weight,
stay mentally active, socialize, and take my dam donepezil (aricept)

i am afraid to stop it because i know it could be the one thing that is
slowing this disease down for awhile before it eventually takes off
if i stop it i could see a more rapid decline in my status
so i plan to continue it despite the side effects
at least its now a cheap generic

i and my wife she are trying to get things done now in this early time
as we dont know what will happen
we have a lot of travel plans and this is the year we are getting all our
financial and legal ducks in a row
we have paid off our house and our cars and this next month
we should be totally debt free
maybe ill call the dave ramsey show so i can scream were debt free
on his radio show

we enjoy each other more now than we ever have before
and know to savor each day as it happens

ive continued doing this blog and spend a few hours on it everyday
i also walk 3-4 miles a day and have taken up hiking trails in this area
sorry ive missed some of the beauty around here over the last 10 years

ive also started a habitat for humanity project that i plan to follow
through to completion
ok so im going to learn some skills i can apply to the redo of my old barn

i will start tomorrow delivering meals on wheels in this area
this is something ive wanted to do
my mother always looked forward to those meals and those
brief interactions with the person that delivered the meal

i have tried to read a real paper newspaper a day and read several
online news websites every day
i also read a book every day if possible
ok my stack is kinda high in my to read stack
i havent made the kindle transformation yet
i like the feel of a book and love to dog ear those pages
but know i will eventually have to give in and use one

i stay busy maintaining my 10 acres here at the country n and
my organic garden
i will never get all this stuff done that needs to be done here
but its fun trying

so i hope in the next 15 months that things will not progress any
that will be good news for my wife she and i

stay tuned
_________
here is hoping for a few more years of good health

the organicgreendoctor

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