Ever known someone with dementia?

<span style="font-size: large;">It is painful to watch and brings forth that realisation of mortality - for me it does anyway. </span>

<span style="font-size: large;">Watching someone close to you start to grow physically fragile is bad enough but when you know, they KNOW they are losing their mind too, THATS tough.</span>

<span style="font-size: large;">Once a manager, leader, actor, teacher and active social person, he lost confidence some years ago when he had a hip replacement which meant he could no longer run. This was a real blow since it was why he felt he could still get away with eating bacon butties each morning.
While he tried all sorts of others things instead of running, like walking more, it just didn't feel the same. Cycling just didn’t work, he’s always had poor coordination and I found out he actually can't swim either, something I had never known growing up! </span>

So he began to sit for hours at his computer, playing solitaire or trying to navigate the internet but this frustrated him too since he couldn't work out how to use it for certain things. Also after getting his retina re-attached (one of his nieces toddlers kicked him in the eye- accidentally!) his vision was poor which contributed to making him feel even older, BUT he tried !!

Oh boy did he try!

Sadly the fact he couldn't work things out for any of these things just made him feel more and more useless.

He has always used his fantastic sense of humour to generate positivity around difficult subjects and even this began to wane.

She tried hard to encourage him to walk regularly, eat better, drink less wine - god forbid - <em>drink less wine!!?!?!?</em>

Anyway even she is growing fragile herself having a knee replacement, then hip replacement, radiotherapy for breast cancer (twice!) and then a pace maker!

<span style="font-size: large;">WOW all of this just contributed more and more to that feeling of ageing.</span>

We began to notice a change in his conversation, clarity, his confidence and then noticed he had begun to write a diary of what he had done each day, like where he had been or where he had put things.

We attempted to speak to him about it but he got annoyed, frustrated and the conversation was clearly uncomfortable for everyone.

Eventually when his doctor invited I'm in for some regular testing he was put through some dementia screens and a CT scan of his brain showed damaged blood vessel’s which confirmed early onset of Alzheimers.

<span style="font-size: large;">His jovial way of telling family members was clearly a cover for the pain this proud man was feeling about knowing his dignity was going to begin slipping away along with an uphill battle to maintain his intelligence. </span>

Having, he himself, watched agonisingly his own mother’s cognitive decline, he knows only too well the kind of experience awaiting him and his loved ones.

So whats the point to this story?

<em>WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE, RIGHT?</em>

<span style="font-size: large;">Ok the point I am making in this blog is that we should recognise that we are all living longer but this experience also raises the question of whether we really <em>maintaining </em></span><em>quality of life</em><span style="font-size: large;"> in that extra time?</span>

Could we do more to protect these amazing organs we live in, our bodies?

How better can we serve them?

Are there ways to improve both our physical and cognitive health to reduce the speed of decline?

Surely improving the way we move increases blood flow thus increasing oxygen to the brain and body, right?

<span style="font-size: large;">We should really stimulate our brains and bodies more appropriately, maintain human contact, we should probably try harder to communication in person RATHER THAN texting and turn off the TV to talk to each other or go for a walk.
Don't you think?
Surely this is a smarter was to contribute towards maintaining a healthy cognitive power for longer, right?</span>

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
MOVE MORE!
THINK MORE
TALK MORE

&amp;

BE FREE FOR LONGER!

From my heart

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