Posted 11-26-19
Today I had the wonderful opportunity to visit 7th Congressional District U.S. Representative Billy Long’s office and tell my mom’s story and thank him for being a champion of the cause. In case you have missed out on previous discussions of this topic, Alzheimer’s is purple, not blue or red, which simply means it isn’t (and shouldn’t be) partisan in any way. Regardless how you feel about Rep. Long’s politics, he has already earned your praise (and your ear) as being someone who both cares about our topic (and seniors in general) and is willing to do something about it. He has co-sponsored several important bills for struggling caregivers, patients and research including the Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s bill (HB 1873) . I really enjoyed my time with Congressman Long this morning and got the feeling that he genuinely cares.
If you are unaware, Rep. Long’s career prior to serving in the political arena was in real estate, most directly in an auction format. Here is a short clip of Rep. Long’s prowess as an auctioneer:
Auctioneering got me thinking about dementia, as most topics seem to do, so I present for your consideration: 10 Things You Can Learn About Dementia From Auctions:
- The word Auction comes from from the Latin word “auctus,” which means “increasing”. Just a quick look through the Alzheimer’s Association’s Facts and Figures page shows the disease is indeed increasing: in cost, in precious souls lost, in caregiver’s time. It is still the only medical cause of death in the top ten that has no cure nor a good treatment plan that increases life expectancy and enhances the quality of life.
- If you listen closely, you will understand. I visit mom at least 4-5 times most weeks and her speaking is getting harder and harder to make out. Her cadence and word flow, sadly, is still pretty good, but the words themselves take a lot of work to completely get. You can tell when she is asking a question or is worried even if you don’t understand every word. That is how I feel in an auction too. I know what the bid is, but I can’t fathom every word the auctioneer says. The cadence is almost magic in its transcendence over the words being presented.
- Lots of folks are necessary for a good auction. One or more auctioneers, a money-collecting team, concessions, organizers, marketers, and the like. In the same way, it takes a big group of folks to care for a loved one with dementia. You need a medical team that includes a general physician, a neurologist, a behavioral health specialist, and a social worker. You need respite care, pastoral care, and people to keep from going crazy because of the loneliness that comes with 24/7 caregiving. You need friends, family, people who understand and people who don’t (that you can teach). Please ask the doctor for a cognitive screening if you have any doubt. You will benefit from the extra time in better treatment, more preparation, etc…
- Winning an auction can be expensive, but the result is fabulous. Watching an auction is fun and usually free. However, bringing home something wonderful will usually cost you dearly, depending on how many share your love for it. In dementia, millions of people of all socio-economic backgrounds get the disease, and it is expensive to treat them. (IN 2019, ALZHEIMER’S AND OTHER DEMENTIAS WILL COST THE NATION $290 BILLION. BY 2050, THESE COSTS COULD RISE AS HIGH AS $1.1 TRILLION.) Money doesn’t prevent the disease and, for now, doesn’t cure it either. However, it will take money…a lot of money…to find the cure. There are myriads of folks on our side doing their best to raise the needed money to fund more and more studies. If you have extra money, donate. If not, there are still many things you can do to help. Someday, when we find a cure we can rejoice in the money saved and, more importantly, the lives restored by this blessed discovery.
- Buy the shabby box. If you buy enough generic boxes of stuff/junk at an auction, you will eventually strike gold and find an overlooked item of value. For one example, a Chicago woman bought an interesting box at a NASA auction for $995 that turned out to have, among other things, a bag of moon dust worth $1.8M. Failed medical tests for a cure seem to abound these days, but eventually we hope they will hit the jackpot. There is so much we have no clue about when it comes to the brain, that it will take a miracle and/or a long time to find a cure.
- How much do you want it? I think we all put a maximum spending cap on ourselves when we attend an auction although my cap would get broken more often than not if I allowed myself that. In dementia, we all have a threshold of how much we are willing to do to find a cure. It directly relates to what we know about the umbrella of conditions and the numbers surrounding them and whom we know that has the disease. Ten years ago I wasn’t deeply interested in the cause of dementia because the “only” stake I thought I had in its cure was that my favorite grandma had died of a combination of dementia symptoms and congestive heart failure. She was well into her 80s and I bought into the lie that it is “just a normal part of aging”. However, when mom and now my maternal uncle were diagnosed it became much more real and the more I study, the more I am willing to do to help. I know…we can’t fix everything. I get it. I really do. However, we can do our part in trying to help in areas like this, especially as they directly affect us and our families, right?
- You can learn all about the auction before you every go. There are a couple approaches to an auction. You can just go without an aim, like an arrow without the feathers. You don’t read the newspaper or online advertisement, you just walk in and start bidding. The more prudent approach, however, is to study before you go to know your target and fight for what you want. In the realm of dementia, if you start seeing warning signs, you can wing it or you can get prepared and fight. The item, your brain, is still “up for bid” either way…you should get prepared and know the topic and, if you see the signs, get checked out so you can better fight it.
- Ya never know what you are gonna get! Sometimes an auction that looks great on paper is a dud and other times you can stumble on a sparsely-attended one and find a gem! Dementia, likewise, is a very personalized experience. Sure, depending on the type you are experiencing, you may see patterns that are pretty predictable; however, by and large, every day is a new day with dementia depending on a host of environmental and medical situation at the time. Mom has days these days that she is pretty cogent and others that she never says a word. Some days are stressful, others are quiet. Sometimes anxiety causes outbursts and others it gets internalized. Especially a year ago, but even now, every time I arrive I prepare myself for a variety of possibilities and I roll with the punches.
- Lapses in judgement happen. Fun fact: One of the most significant historical auctions occurred in 193 A.D. when the Praetorian Guard put the entire Roman Empire on the auction block. The winning bidder, wealthy senator Didius Julianus, paid 6250 drachmas per soldier and was named emperor for his trouble. Later he was deserted, condemned and executed. Well, dementia may not reach that extreme in lapses of judgement, it happens every day that some demonic “human” takes advantage of a senior with dementia and steals what took a lifetime to accumulate. I work with seniors vocationally and hear it far too often. This is another reason why getting a power of attorney and getting a handle on this disease are critical. It doesn’t matter if your loved one used to be a CEO, an accountant, or used to be stingy. Dementia changes the rules and defilters the filter. We have to advocate and protect them, even from themselves.
- Candles result from auctions. According to Auctioneers.org, “Candles were used in the 1700s at auctions to declare the winner. If you were the high bidder at the time the candle extinguished itself, you won the auction.” Today, sadly, candles are used in mourning those we have lost and, sometimes, in the June Longest Day events, to celebrate those who serve as caregivers. We are losing seniors in droves to this disease. According to the Alz.org facts and figures, one in three seniors has their precious candle extinguished by this killer. We need a cure. Now! We need to #EndALZ! What would I do for a cure? Give penny I own…which isn’t much. BUT, for a cure..going once, going twice…sold!
Update: Mom had another decent day yesterday. It was a really nice visit. 🙂 My stepdad was worn down a bit, which is always a concern. He visits 3 times a day to feed mom and if he gets sick, the staff will be forced to help her when I can’t come to do it myself. Changes in routine are nearly always bad. Many full-time caregivers end up with a serious illness themselves. Caregiver stress, sleep difficulties and the like seem to be a trigger for caregivers themselves to have a higher likelihood of developing the disease as well.
Last little note: This is not a political blog. I am conservative in practice, but I listen to any legislator who cares for seniors and particularly cares for our cause. I will leave the other battles for others…