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Webisode One: Spotting the Signs of Dementia

"This is a story about my mom and our journey with Alzheimer's disease."

Samantha Burton

Transcript

My name is Samantha Burton, and this is a story about my mom and our journey with Alzheimer's disease. My mom’s 76 years old. Been living on her own since dad died six years ago. She’s active, loves to be outside… gardening and walking her dog.

But I’m worried. Mom’s forgetting things. She has been for a while, and I’ve been afraid to admit it. Last week, we were at the park with the dog, and she kept asking me if we’d remembered to feed him. Every five or ten minutes… Did we feed the dog his lunch? And she’s forgetting names, dates, places. And the mood swings. She’s so irritable. It’s just not like her. She’s always been so happy and pleasant.

So I started doing some research. Looking online. I think she has Alzheimer's disease. So I called my sister, but she thought I was just overreacting. She said mom was just getting old. I tried to tell mom one night at dinner. She got really defensive. Insisted that she was fine. And I let it go.

Then the basketball game. One of my twins plays for her high school team and mom wanted to cheer her on. Mom stood up as if to yell, but said nothing and sat back down. I think she forgot Miranda’s name. I had another talk with mom that night. I showed her this notepad that I had been keeping. I used it to write down things she’d forgotten, her bad moods. We talked for an hour. We decided to go together to see Dr. Womack, our family doctor. I’m really scared to go – but I also feel a little better. But it’s time for some answers.

Comments

Comments (5)
Bobbis
December 19th, 2020 3:40am

I don't really have anyone to talk to. I Live alone.

Richard R Richardson
January 22nd, 2021 5:20pm

I live alone also and don't have a lot of conversation with people since my wife died of Alzheimer's in November

barry
February 21st, 2021 2:36pm

My mother died from alzheimer's disease 4 years ago, and her sister, my aunt , died from it too, and my mom had 5 aunts on her father's side and all 5 died from alzheimer's. My gene test shows that I had the abnormal allele that causes alzheimer's , apoe episilon 4. One of my children also has the abnormal allele. the rest refuse to be tested, I don't blame them. I wish I didn't know either. But it explains my behavior. Thank you for these videos, it helped me tremendously.

OPEN_Administrator
April 16th, 2021 4:47pm

We know that it can be difficult to see a friend or family member suffering from Alzheimer's Disease, Barry. Talk to your support system about how to handle difficult moments.

buffy
May 2nd, 2022 3:52am

its hard sometimes

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