Rich wrote this a couple of days ago. He rides an emotional roller coaster all day long. It is often tortuous for him. It is really hard to watch and I often feel helpless to stop his pain. As I have said before, "FTD (Frontotemporal Degeneration) is NOT a floral delivery." This is what Rich …
Frontotemporal Degeneration
Music sometimes helps Rich to recenter when his emotions are all over the place.
LIVING WITH DYING
Rich shares a common diagnosis with the man in the linked article below, Howard Glick. They have become friends. Howard's attitude and resilience have already begun to help Rich take a new look at his own disease, Frontotemporal Degeneration. It is difficult for patients with FTD, and their …
GRANDMA IS NO FUN
Illness in a home affects everyone. It touches each person in a variety of ways. Ally wrote this sign tonight and I did not even know what to say. I guess because she is right. I don't think I'm fun anymore either. Fun takes energy, time and the ability to put everything else -- all the gotta do's …
POST BY RICH: Reach Out For A Friend
As you know, if you've been following my blog, I walk everyday to exercise and, more importantly, to find some peace of mind even for a little while. While I walk, I listen to music as a further support for emotional calmness. Every once in a while, I come across a song that connects with what my …
CHORES
Rich's intention to do chores and his actual follow-through are two very different things. Sometimes it takes little reminders and then it MIGHT get done. …
POST BY RICH: CHEERLEADING
Well, as you can see from Patty's added remarks to my blog from yesterday, despite my "trying," the hours after my workout, and the remainder of the day, went down the toilet. So much for "trying" to be supportive and act like a cross between a cheerleader and a Marine Corps drill …
POST BY RICH: TRY
"Try." A word consisting of three letters. A small word? No! Why? Because to "try" means to put out an effort to accomplish a specific goal. Go ahead and ask yourself, "how often have I set goals and succeeded? I don't know about you, but I've set many goals over my life time and have been …
GOD, ARE YOU STILL THERE?
I am a deeply spiritual person with a solid and resounding faith in God. Throughout all of the challenges over the past five years, I have never felt that any of us were being forsaken. I have known that God is there with us each step of the way. As I lay here in bed trying to shut my brain down so …
DRIVING AND DEMENTIA
People often ask questions that are indicative of how they believe Rich is functioning. "He is still driving?" some ask with an incredulous tone in their voice. "How can he still drive?" The ability to drive safely is a product of several different functions working together: Intelligence; …