As most of you know, this past Halloween, my dad died of Alzheimers.

As a memorial to him, I want to start educating people on this illness. I can not give you ALL the facts, however, I will share what I know, and ask the members of our medical community who are OKC Talkers to tell what they know.

Alzheimers is not fatal. The symptoms are. My dad actually died from Kidney failure, and the fact his throat was paralized. He was in a lot of pain until minutes before he died. Yes, I am aware of pain medication, and he was on several of them. However, he could not take them due to the throat situation. Plus, he had a "DNR," therefore, he was not treated with IV's.

Had we detected the Alzheimers in the early stages, there are some treatments available that may have prolonged his life. It would not have SAVED his life, just prolonged it. Chances are, I would be spending a fruitful Christmas with him this year instead of mourning his death.

I said in the thread Keith started about him that early detection is the key. And I urged everyone to watch out for it. It is genetic. In fact, I have a 75% chance of eventually being diagonsed with it as both of my dad's parents died from it. We did not know it existed then, however.

Watch for unusal things like a lot of forgetting, unusual behavior that many would call mentally deranged (not violent, just weird), and things of that nature. Ask your doctor to keep you up to date with signs of it, especially if your family has a history of it. Investigate the causes of past loved ones who have died of strokes and other related illnesses. Try and plan ahead. I know it is tough, however, even a couple of years are precious.

In the meantime. Check sites on the subject, get information from the Alzheimers Association, experts in the field, the library, and any other source you can think of.

You and your family and friends will thank you for it, because it can help them as well as you.

This has to be hard on you by sharing that, but I for one, appreciate it. People just don't think about it unless it hits their family, I know that I wouldn't unless someone mentioned it. I am so sorry that this had to happen, and you have apparently taken something very hurtful and attempted to turn it into something very helpful to others. Thank you.

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Too old NOT to care