My grandmother used to say that my father lived to adulthood because she constantly went by the motto "don't kill him today... kill him tomorrow." So before you get concerned that I am of homocidal intent, take a minute to read this short background piece: …
Frontotemporal Degeneration
FTD – “It’s All About Me”
I've been sitting here contemplating why I haven't written anything for the blog in awhile. I realized it is because Rich has been writing so much and I'm happy about that. I think it's good for him to write about FTD. He has something to contribute to this horrid world of Frontotemporal …
POST BY RICH: GRATITUDE
Despite the tragedy of FTD and the impact it has on my family and me, I try to feel "gratitude." I'm speaking to anyone with FTD out there that might be reading this blog. You, as an FTD'er, may be asking yourself, "what in the world do I have to be grateful for? I've been struck by a horrible …
POST BY RICH – TURN IN THE ROAD
While on my morning exercise/meditation walk the other day, I was listening to country singer, Steve Wariner. He was singing a song entitled, "Turn In The Road." I was caught by the chorus of his song. As I listened to the song, I felt that it applied to my family's FTD situation. It reinforced …
POST BY RICH: BATTLING FTD
What does the Battle of Thermopylae (ther-mop-i-lee), in 480 B.C., have to do with FTD? I'll tell you, but understand that this is from my perspective only. For 32 years I was an attorney before I was forced to retire because of the impact the FTD was having on my work. For approximately the last …
POST BY RICH: Blazing the Inferno
Yesterday was a horrible emotional day. (It is so odd for me to share such personal feelings. All of my life, I have been very, very careful to protect my privacy, especially any mental health issues. Now, I openly share these subjects. My wife, Patty, said, by doing so, I may be able to help …
POST BY RICH: FTD – THE LOSS OF LOVED ONES
This morning, during my daily walk, I was thinking about how the victims of FTD start to "disappear," (i.e., they lose their personalities, beings, and souls - they lose the essence of what makes them, them). Their families "lose" them. All of a sudden, it hit me. I, as a victim of FTD, am losing …
A POST WRITTEN BY RICH: “CHALLENGING”
I am regularly asked, by many caring people with sincerity, compassion, concern and love, "how are you doing?" My response is, "things are challenging." However, "challenging" fails to even come close to describing the struggle of dealing with the depression, anxiety, mania, anger, agitation and …
HOUSE AT POOH CORNER
Rich used to play guitar. When we first met, he promised to learn the song "House at Pooh Corner" (Kenny Loggins) and sing it to me. I have always been a huge Winnie The Pooh fan. Over the years I would tease him that he still had to learn it and sing it to me. When he got sick and talked about …
THE DRAGON
Rich wrote a profound email to me this morning. He calls me "Trishie" and he signed it with my nickname for him. I love it when he calls me Trishie. He has done that since we first met in 1977 and is the only person who ever calls me that. I like that part of it. I asked him if he was okay with me …