Alzheimer Disease

Alzheimer Disease A Heavy Burden

Alzheimer disease is such a heavy burden. This disease attacks the brain of a loved one and slowly strips away all that once we knew. This destructive disease is a silent killer that strikes any one without warning and is talked little about in society and our daily lives. Most of the time you don't even know that your friend, work colleague or associate is struggling with the day to day care of a loved one who has Alzheimer's because most of the time they are to afraid to say anything for fear of the reactions they will receive. 

Alzheimer's in a loved one really sucks because you have to sit back and watch this invisible killer steal away the inner personality of your loved one. it starts with the constant loss of memory just little things at first. It is when they start to forget what they were doing and your name that this killer in your loved one really becomes apparent. you will struggle trying to care for your loved one every day and then the day comes when they have no recognition of you anymore and their daydream stare has now become just a blank stare at nothing.

Over the months and the years caring for your loved one who is being attacked by this malicious invader you cry you scream and you search for perpetual answers in vain all the while the pain of lose is with you even though your loved one is still living and breathing. The wound cuts deep down inside of you and every time they look your way you have this little glimmer of hope that perhaps maybe the person you love is fighting their way back only to feel the knife cut you deeper as you look into their eyes and see nothing just a blank.

You watch the person you once knew as alive vivacious and fun become this spiritually empty physical vessel. you are tired and stressed as each day the disease moves more quickly and starts shutting down the brains cognitive ability to even assist the person to eat. You know see the physical aspect of this crippling killer with you empty loved one know dropping weight and loosing basic ability to speak, drink, go to the toilet and even brush their teeth. This process can take a long time as you watch their body become a skeleton  until you are told by the doctor it is time for palliative care ( Death Watch) 

You know the time is nearing an end for your loved one and you start thinking of the funeral arrangements whilst feeling guilty because you know that soon the both of you will be free from this invisible invader that has had control of your whole lives for the past 5 years and you just want it to be over. You have no more tears left to cry and are so exhausted you feel isolated and alone because the support that is available to you has only come from medical staff and nursing home staff who have been there with you through this journey of hell.

Alzheimer's the dangerous thief that invades someone you love and slowly steals every part of them until you are left with almost nothing except relief

Alzheimer’s disease is an irreversible, progressive brain disease that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills, and eventually even the ability to carry out the simplest tasks. In most people with Alzheimer’s, symptoms first appear after age 60. Estimates vary, but experts suggest that as many as 5.1 million Americans may have Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia among older people. Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning—thinking, remembering, and reasoning—and behavioural abilities, to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities. Dementia ranges in severity from the mildest stage, when it is just beginning to affect a person’s functioning, to the most severe stage, when the person must depend completely on others for basic activities of daily living.

Alzheimer’s disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed changes in
the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unusual mental illness. Her symptoms included memory loss, language problems, and unpredictable behaviour. After she died, he examined her brain and found many abnormal clumps (now called amyloid plaques) and tangled bundles of fibres (now called neurofibrillary tangles). Plaques and tangles in the brain are two of the main features of Alzheimer’s disease. The third is the loss of connections between nerve cells (neurons) in the brain.

Changes in the Brain in Alzheimer’s Disease  

               

Although we still don’t know how the Alzheimer’s disease process begins, it seems likely that damage to the brain starts a decade or more before problems become evident. During the pre-clinical stage of Alzheimer’s disease, people are free of symptoms but toxic changes are taking place in the brain. Abnormal deposits of proteins form amyloid plaques and tau tangles throughout the brain, and once-healthy neurons begin to work less efficiently. Over time, neurons lose their ability to function and communicate with each other, and eventually they die.

Before long, the damage spreads to a nearby structure in the brain called the hippocampus, which is essential in forming memories. As more neurons die, affected brain regions begin to shrink. By the final stage of Alzheimer’s, damage is widespread, and brain tissue has shrunk significantly.