With momma, she began calling me over and over telling me the same things that she had told me in the first phone call. It wasn’t until she had put lightbulbs in the freezer instead of the pantry that I had my first uh-oh moment.  She had called me complaining that we had left them at the store when I knew we hadn’t. I had to drive back over to her house and find them for her and lo and behold she had put them in the freezer.

I would imagine it would be much harder to tell if you are living further away and don’t see your loved one on a daily basis. Maybe you can speak with a friendly neighbor. Ask them to keep an eye out and exchange phone numbers. Don’t just give them your number. Get theirs as well.  You just have to learn to listen between the lines. My hat is off to you!

Eroding the short-term memory which is stored in the hippocampus doesn’t take long. From there it is just a short hop to the part of the brain that controls language. This explains why a person with AD sometimes struggles to find the right words or the meaning of words.

The next part of the brain to be destroyed is where logical thinking takes place. It makes it harder for the individual to make plans or to solve problems. You might notice that they are making mistakes balancing their checkbooks or forget the date. Momma gets the seasons mixed up and forgets the months and even years at times.

From there it moves into the region that controls emotions. Your loved one may laugh at an inappropriate time or cry for no reason at all. You may see signs of anger where you didn’t before or the opposite may be true. Judgement is affected like wearing shorts and shorts sleeves in winter or a thick sweater in summer.

The part of the brain that controls the senses is next. This is the scariest one to me and the one we are are dealing with at the moment. Everything tastes bitter to her these days. Even her precious Kellogg’s blueberry non-frosted pop tarts! We keep finding them in the garbage can. She is throwing them away left and right. Her coffee tastes bitter as well. Her appetite has suffered and I worry she doesn’t eat enough. The scary part is that this stage can also spark hallucinations. We haven’t had to deal with that and I really hope we don’t have to. I can only imagine how terrifying that would be.

After it has destroyed that part of the brain it goes after oldest most cherished memories. Your loved one may forget who their loved ones are. Places that they’ve gone to frequently are no longer recognized.  They forget giving birth to their children. They are at a point where they have no memories left. My mom asks me a couple times a day where I’m at, not realizing that she’s talking to me.

The part of the brain that controls balance and coordination is next. Falls are the leading cause of death for people 65 or older. Every year about 9,500 people are killed in falls inside the home. Watch out for rugs, put grab bars and a shower stool in the bathtub. Keep things picked up and make sure there are clear walkways throughout the home.

Finally, after it has taken everything else it destroys the part of the brain that controls breathing and heartbeat. It generally takes 8 to 10 years for all of this to occur, but I’ve also heard stories of it lasting a lot longer. There is no cure for Alzheimer disease. It is a long hard battle and in the end it still takes everything.

Check out this video by the Alzheimer society: