Alzheimer's is the gradual eroding of imagination and intellect. I know, because I watched my father's brain wither slowly away until it was only when there were flashes of memory that he knew who I was. These flashes grew weaker and weaker but I think he recognized me, if only for a second, a few days before his death. He was a brave man. He knew he had alzheimer's yet he walked boldly into his future. Will I stroll boldly into mine?
PD and Alzheimers are both degenerative neurologic conditions, but they are different. With PD, I stand a 75 -80% chance of dying a semi-dignified death with my brain intact, though my body be beaten. There was no such dignity to my father's death. He died with his body in the shape of a typical 86 year old but his brain was fried.
I wonder if PD will turn into Alzheimers. I dunno, but I think not. They affect 2 different areas of the brain.
From what I have read, PD involves the substantia nigra, that part of the brain that affects movement; Alzheimers involves the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex, that part of the brain that controls intellect and memory. Someday, I might not be able to walk, but I will still be able to think and remember. My father could walk fairly well (the walk of a 86 year old man), but he could no longer think. Nope, his memory was kaput.
All things considered, if I had to choose, I would rather have PD.
I guess it might be possible for PD and Alzheimer's to co-exist, but I don't want to think about that.
In fact, I am through thinking for today. The hockey game is on TV at 4pm and I plan to "veg out" until that time.
"It occurred to me that at one point it was like I had two diseases -
one was Alzheimer's, and the other was knowing I had Alzheimer's."
(Terry Pratchett)
PD and Alzheimers are both degenerative neurologic conditions, but they are different. With PD, I stand a 75 -80% chance of dying a semi-dignified death with my brain intact, though my body be beaten. There was no such dignity to my father's death. He died with his body in the shape of a typical 86 year old but his brain was fried.
I wonder if PD will turn into Alzheimers. I dunno, but I think not. They affect 2 different areas of the brain.
From what I have read, PD involves the substantia nigra, that part of the brain that affects movement; Alzheimers involves the hippocampus and the entorhinal cortex, that part of the brain that controls intellect and memory. Someday, I might not be able to walk, but I will still be able to think and remember. My father could walk fairly well (the walk of a 86 year old man), but he could no longer think. Nope, his memory was kaput.
All things considered, if I had to choose, I would rather have PD.
I guess it might be possible for PD and Alzheimer's to co-exist, but I don't want to think about that.
In fact, I am through thinking for today. The hockey game is on TV at 4pm and I plan to "veg out" until that time.
"It occurred to me that at one point it was like I had two diseases -
one was Alzheimer's, and the other was knowing I had Alzheimer's."
(Terry Pratchett)
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