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Mon, 9 Jan 2012

10:39 PM - A Disease's Devastating Toll

More in depth articles and tips posted at her wholesale nike shox,Our Jan. 31 cover story on Alzheimer's illness elicited an outpouring of appreciation from readers, many of whom shared their loved ones experiences. Thank you for an enlightening post that puts a face on the most devastating illness a family can endure, stated 1. Your superb work will go a long way toward furthering public understanding of Alzheimer's tragic ravages, wrote another. A 3rd observed grimly: Alzheimer's isn't about losing just your memory: it is about losing your life. A man told us he and his loved ones had discovered the significance of keeping my grandmother happy and motivated. Along with a reader who had lost his quick-witted and loving father to Alzheimer's was relieved to learn about all of the research becoming devoted to finding a remedy.Thank you for your post Alzheimer's: Unlocking the Mystery (SOCIETY, Jan. 31). I had a rough time reading the article, getting watched each of my paternal grandparents slowly deteriorate and ultimately die from the disease over the last decade. Your post was informative and helpful. When you much better understand the illness, it helps to let go of loved ones who die mentally lengthy before they ever leave you physically. And now, in spite of the fact that I know my mother and father and I are much more susceptible to the disease, you have given me hope. Hope to get a cure and hope about prevention. Thank you for reporting on what exactly the disease is, how it happens and also the reality that you will find numerous people out there searching for a remedy.Mindi JonesWest Valley City, UtahYour report on Alzheimer's was right around the mark in pointing out the heartbreak the disease causes for individuals and family members, and the importance of retaining individuals as involved as you possibly can in activities, while providing compassion up till the bitter end. It's nearly eight many years since my father, a physician who made his own diagnosis, died of Alzheimer's. Although moments of recognizing his family became much less frequent as his illness progressed, I cherish that twinkle in his blue eyes when he saw his granddaughters or when he corrected a relative concerning the setting of an old family photograph. Over 10 years ago, a writing companion and I proposed a book to clarify the human side of the tragedy. A literary agent told us not enough people would be interested in a subject to which they could not relate, and which didn't have a happy ending. Your statistics and also the individual tragedies of famous individuals like President Ronald Reagan now seem to indicate otherwise.Barbara B. BuchholzSt. Louis, Mo.Together with 3 of my 7 brothers and sisters, I have been an Alzheimer's caregiver for two many years. My stunning mother, who devoted her life to raising her eight children and caring for my father via 3 bouts of lung cancer before his death, is struggling with Alzheimer's. I do not use the word suffering lightly. My mother, who usually saw the silver lining in each and every cloud, now sees only the clouds. She sees them, but can seldom title them. She frequently can't title her children or grandchildren. She doesn't know her deal with, the day of the week, the month or year or season. This woman who was always ready to take around the world with joy, wonder and excitement seldom leaves her home. A trip to the grocery shop where she has shopped for 19 years is really a very foreign and stressful adventure. Every time we go, it is as if we have never been there before. Now I comprehend why Alzheimer's is called a family disease. The toll it takes on all involved is physical, monetary and devastatingly emotional.Kathleen M. CottaAlpharetta, Ga.The first paragraph of Geoffrey Cowley's article on Alzheimer's disease reads like the story of my mother's long and valiant struggle. Her death was indeed just a formality. I nonetheless possess a copy of 1 of your earlier cover stories on the subject, The Agony of Alzheimer's Disease (Dec. 3, 1984). Our family used that as a way of tracing what we could expect with my mother. Please continue to make use of the printed word to raise awareness of this heartbreaking illness, using the hope that more study dollars will probably be committed to it. Thank you for all you have done.Linda MendelsonChicago, Ill.Thank you, thank you, thank you, for the extensive information in your cover story on Alzheimer's. The stored experience and knowledge and humanity in aging citizens' brains constitute a precious treasure to all mankind. It is completely really worth the all-out effort toward a remedy.Malcolm N. EilermanCovington, Ga.As an audiologist and speech-language pathologist, I'd prefer to point out that the cognitive dysfunction and inattentiveness that characterize Alzheimer's also plague the elderly hearing-impaired. Without a complete audiological evaluation, it might be difficult to figure out to what extent a patient's signs and symptoms are the outcome of Alzheimer's or hearing loss. Unfortunately, numerous doctors don't order a hearing check for their individuals. A significant hearing loss may exacerbate the advance of Alzheimer's, because cognitive stimulation, via vision and hearing, will be the important to environmental awareness. If a family member exhibits the signs of Alzheimer's, insist on a complete audiological evaluation. If the results indicate that a hearing aid is required, get 1 immediately.Granville Y. Brady Jr.Somerville, N.J.Kudos to your magazine for its extremely timely post on Alzheimer's disease. As an EOAD (early-onset Alzheimer's illness) patient (I was diagnosed at 45), I discover it most heartening that this monstrous illness is finally becoming discussed openly. There is a great deal of understanding about the later on stages of Alzheimer's and associated dementia, but its beginnings seem to be new territory. Till recently, most individuals had been diagnosed well in to the progression of the illness, with a predictable program. But now, with earlier diagnosis, we EOAD individuals are rocking the boat. Some drugs might forestall the disease's progression for years, not just months. We are challenging our local Alzheimer's Associations to supply assistance groups and counseling for us as patients. Alzheimer's is a death sentence, with no reprieves in sight at this time... sigh... but we are not dead yet! I hope that maybe you'll think about performing a follow-up post on early-stage Alzheimer's. Many of us fall via the cracks of society because we are not senior citizens, even though we have old-timer's illness, and many spouses are left still caring to get a youthful family and a spouse who's turning out to be a kid again.Jan PhillipsLa Mirada, Calif.Thank you for the post My Father's Battle With Alzheimer's by Maureen Reagan. Ever because the former president told the American people about his illness, I have been interested in how he's been doing. Maureen gave us a loving insight into his illness and the care he's getting. I hope her plea for support for the Alzheimer's Association won't go unheard and that quickly there will probably be a cure for this terrible disease.Hope WarrinerSan Diego, Calif.In an age with a lot emphasis positioned on parenting and operating women, one would think that Bruce Kluger could be a welcome commodity for any parenting magazine (Breaking Through the Estrogen Ceiling, MY TURN, Jan. 31). As a woman, I was shocked and chagrined by the account of his inability to break into an area of writing where a male perspective is sorely required. Right here is what American women pleaded for, fought for and demanded all these many years: a man who understands the male point of view on nurturing kids. A slap on the hand from me to all those parenting magazines that rejected him. Youthful men in this nation are afflicted by a lack of function designs, particularly when it comes to sufficient parenting. If women have no desire to reinforce the efforts of our males to adopt these new roles, they can ultimately just neglect about it and go back to doing all the parenting themselves!Marianne DuncanSilver Spring, MD.There's no doubt that Kluger and other conscientious fathers are sometimes undervalued. I'd like to say, nevertheless, that so long as it's ladies, and not males, who suffer via the ordeals of pregnancy and childbirth, and so long as breast milk is considered superior to formula, fathers will certainly be parental also-rans. We love you, dads; we're glad when you are around, but most moms do more. It is biology. Get more than it.Jennifer GrahamCharleston, S.C.Like a stay-at-home dad, taking a year off from teaching to spend time with my two daughters, I count myself extremely lucky that my wife's task as an anesthesiologist makes this financially feasible. While Kluger has clocked numerous hrs feeding, diapering, cleansing, playing, studying and grocery shopping, I collect he still seeks his identity through his vocation. I am guilty of the same folly. Some thing inherent in the Y chromosome makes it exceedingly difficult for me to fill in homemaker or full-time dad within the occupation blank on a type. I inform people I am on a sabbatical from teaching, as if just being Daddy is not a noble pursuit. It is actually probably the most honorable of pursuits, but additionally one with extremely small external validation--no grades, no salary, no performance reviews. You need to relish the small issues, the moments of triumph that occur every day for your kids. Because I've taken that approach, this 24/7 dad function has been magnificently fulfilling. I nonetheless carry the secret hope that my daughters will obtain some huge benefit from my year at home. However I know their best experiences have occurred when each Mom and Dad happen to be with them. So is it Ok to contact me Mr. Mom? Sure, if you call my wife Dr. Dad.Scott A. SustekAustin, TexasIt saddens and disheartens me to see that psychiatrists do not appear to be involved with deciding what's greatest for Elian Gonzalez (Grandma Diplomacy, INTERNATIONAL, Jan. 31). With all that's known about childhood loss, trauma and recovery, it's criminal to deal with this boy like a political pawn and trigger celebre. Elian, in the tender age of 5, watched his mother die, saw the deaths of 10 others, survived at sea--terrified for his life--and is treated as if he had marched inside a parade. He needs to mourn in an environment of security and familiar continuity. Give him the 1 parent he nonetheless has and grandparents who might help him make sense of what losses he's sustained.Deena R. Harris, M.D.New York, N.Y.This family matter is obtaining as well political. Doesn't anyone wish to know whether Elian wants to stay within the Usa or return to Cuba? Even though he's only 6 many years old now, he is the victim of this conflict and therefore has the proper to give his point of view and let his voice be heard.Eva HoCupertino, Calif.Please withhold judgment on Elian's mother and the thousands of Cubans who risk their lives in their efforts to escape till you have walked in their shoes. Or to put it better, till you've taken a paddle stroke in 1 of their rafts. My mother took me out of Cuba when I was 10 years old, and in the process she left behind her own mother. That was 32 many years ago. I can assure you that the 50 stars around the American flag and our nation's Constitution mean a great deal more to anyone who has sailed to freedom than they do to somebody who has been born in it.Rigoberto LacabaPembroke Pines, Fla.Anna Quindlen's piece Ignore Them Off The Field (THE Last WORD, Jan. 31) reminded me of the plight of the great baseball hitter Hank Greenberg, who was reviled by other ballplayers simply because he was Jewish. He ignored them on the area, speaking only with his bat by hitting 58 homers, rivaling Babe Ruth's record of 60. He maintained his dignity and enlisted within the U.S. Army during Globe War II, at the height of his baseball fame. He also mentored the young Jackie Robinson, who suffered similar abuse for becoming an African-American. In contrast to John Rocker, Greenberg was a player who had more than a talented rotator cuff and excellent hand-eye coordination; he was a mensch.Marvin K. RubinNew York, N.Y.God bless John Rocker, who can spit out the realities of life with candor, instead of politically right columnists like Anna Quindlen.Ray GerhardtLas Vegas, Nev.Anna Quindlen's essay around the relative unimportance of expert athletes is really a long-overdue observation on American culture. Simply because today's pro athletes have been raised towards the level of cultural icons, we've produced a breed of egotistical louts, numerous of whom really feel licensed to indulge in all manner of criminal behavior without any have to be worried about legal implications. High-priced attorneys get them into counseling programs in lieu of jail time. For each gentlemanly Wayne Gretzky or Nolan Ryan, we've a platoon of John Rockers and Mike Tysons. For that reason, my preferred athlete of all time is Secretariat. A minimum of he always knew how you can behave in public.Jerry RedmondHuntington, N.Y.For more info on Wholesale Nike Air Force Ones Click Here cheap nike air max.

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