<h1>Don't bother me. I am busy getting crazy</h1>

I am not crazy; although I want to be. It is boring not being crazy but then I read about the possibility of dementia down the road apiece. I should be careful what I wish for. I am tempting fate. Actually, I am not all that worried because (a) I am too lucky and (b) I will probably be dead before dementia kicks in.

Most of us PWP will suffer some alteration of our cognitive abilities as we shimmy toward the next world. The degree to which it affects us will vary from mild cognitive impairment to severe cognitive impairment. Some (I hope "most") of us will just deal with our impairment as we deal with gnats. They can be a nuisance but we can work around them.

The most common cognitive problem relates to speech and is characterized as "word finding" inability. Well, if you have been reading my blog, you will know I suffer from this and have found away around it - I have stopped talking or, when I do talk, I find myself using simplified, less spontaneous speech.

Another cognitive change is the problem of maintaining focus. Our ability to problem solve may decline along the way. We will become less able to zero in on a solution when dealing with a complex matter.

Then there is the big "B", bradyphrenia, just a word to describe how quickly PD affects how we process information and respond to it. This slowing down of mental processing affects us both mentally and physically. It has been characterized as feeling as if you can't walk and chew gum simultaneously.

That's all for now. There are a few more PD affects on cognition but I don't want to bum you out.

Aren't you glad you read this!

Of course there is some good that comes with the bad.For example most of us will retain our IQ's. That's one good thing and a second is I have read that Hitler's PD helped bring the war to an end when it did, instead of going on longer.

So far, only my speech has been affected and maybe a little attention deficit, but I have always been that way. I have always thought that I was not being inattentive, it was just that I was attending to something more interesting, and any other thing I was supposed to be attending to was just white noise and ultimately, collateral damage.

Still, a little craziness and chaos just makes life more alive. As Mark Twain wrote, "I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity."

I know what you mean Mr. Twain.