Thursday, March 31, 2011

How to Laugh at Alzheimers

Alzheimer's disease is a horrible disease. I don't want to make it seem like I am going to literally make fun of people who have it. Instead, I want to create a place where people can get together and talk about how they feel and support each other.

My mother has Alzheimer's. Her mother had Alzheimer's. My uncle had Alzheimer's. I could very well have Alzheimer's. The way that my family and I have dealt with it is to poke a little fun here and there. It helps us deal with the hurt and the anguish that we feel.

Alzheimer's is the long goodbye. It can last for numerous years after the diagnosis is made, or the first symptoms are observed. Those of us who are "survivors" have a choice: either wallow in self-pity, or have fun with those who are still with us and embrace our loved ones who are afflicted. Remember to not take it so personally and that you are not alone.

I look forward to our conversations.

5 comments:

  1. So glad you started this. I think it's going to be wonderful!

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  2. Andrea,
    My prayers are with you and your dad & sister. Your Mom is a very dear friend to me. I will visit her when I get back up to Ohio. Laugh through the tears.Call me to talk if you want.
    Betty

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  3. That sounds like a very positive attitude to a horrendous disease. I'm lucky no one in my family have been affected by it - yet!
    I found you though the A-Z challenge.

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  4. We're going through it now with my grandmother. My grandfather died of Alzheimer's several years ago. My mom is 55 this year and I'm hoping I've got a good 10 or 15 years until she starts.

    I think this blog is a great idea.

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  5. I have no words to express how grateful I am to have found your blog. Actually it's a friend of mine who found it and emailed me the link.

    My grandmother has alzheimer's. Her condition began to rapidly deteriorate in 2008. She was like a mother to me and my brother and sisters. Currently she is still in her own home but only because my mother and father live literally a few feet away in the next house. She has just started wandering off.
    At first I was angry. So very angry I seethed inside. Then I found some coping mechanisms and writing is one of them. On my blog I have one story I wrote in an attempt to show others what having alzheimer's is like. Link to story
    If you would like to read it, I'd love any feedback you have -negative or positive.

    I love that your family tries to laugh at the situation. Mine does as well, in between raging about the horribleness and unfairness and fearing it happening to our mother or to any one of us.

    I don't have any other posts on Alzheimer's as yet on my blog, but there will be more eventually.

    Your blog is a true blessing to me, Andrea! Thank you for sharing.

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