Posted 7/20/20
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them; but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he knows their day is coming. The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright. But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken. Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked; for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous. The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever. In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty. But the wicked will perish:Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.” –Psalm 37:7-20
As a reminder, this series is going through the warning signs of dementia found at this link: LINK
A heart-y, happy Monday to you all this bright and cheery day. Hope your weekend was cool enough and refreshing! I had a nice weekend although I could have handled a little less heat. We camped Friday and Saturday and did surprisingly well considering the temps, although we did cut it short due to one kiddo having adverse reactions. Ohhhhh…but the food. My wife, who could outcook Paula Deen and The Pioneer Woman and their pro kitchens using only 3 matches and a single sheet of old newspaper, outdid herself this trip. Friday night she made chili (see picture) that was absolutely awe-inspiring. Then, Saturday morning, she whipped up scrambled eggs and bacon on the cast iron skillet that were to die for. Quite a wife I have! Mom is a great camper, but she has nothing on my bride! In addition to my bride’s stellar cooking, every bug in the forest was apparently drawn directly to her. I only got a couple of skeeter bites and my daughter had one little tick. The rest…straight to my bride. Stinkin’ bugs…you can’t see them until the damage is done when you feel them…
These flying pests, in a small way, bring to mind today’s topic from the warning signs of dementia series: “Trouble Understanding Visual Images and Spatial Relationships”. One of the brutal warning signs of dementia, and one that gets worse with time, is what the disease does to your visual processes. This can be especially bad when mixed in the blender with what Lewy Body Dementia adds to the party: hallucinations. So, what do these changes “look like”?:
- Trouble “seeing” what is right there. “Mom, do you like your breakfast?” Reply: “Where??” It isn’t that she couldn’t physically see her breakfast. If you look waaaaay back in the list of articles, you will see that she had laser surgery and “sees” probably better than I can. Processing what she sees is a completely different issue. Mom can look right at me and not realize I am there…then a light bulb turns on and she “sees” me and recognizes that I am in her tribe. Even seeing herself in the mirror can be scary since she doesn’t recognize that it is her.
- Trouble understanding what is seen. Mistaking objects for different objects is quite common, especially, as I mentioned before, if you have the beginnings of Lewy Body dementia. Mrs. W, from the Sweet 17 original band, told me clearly one day to have a nice day and added that there were snakes in the hallway and to be careful. There were patterns in that section of floor that she could have mistaken…but nothing slithered for real. Truly sad. 🙁
- Following an item is a challenge. Is following a golf ball or perhaps keeping track of cars around you while you drive getting harder? Distractions and trouble tracking can cause a host of problems and should be addressed toot sweet.
- Depth perception issues in this warning sign can cause stumbles, car dents and dings, dropping items you were trying to set on a counter, and the like. There are tests to help diagnose this challenge, but you must talk to the doc.
- Trouble processing colors can also throw a wrench in the works. You may look directly at a plate, especially one with a busy pattern, and not be able to discern the patter from the food because the color or contrast is so distorted.
If any of these thoughts ring a bell, please talk to your doctor as soon as humanly possible. Do so for your safety, for the safety of those around you, and for the ease in getting a plan to work through these challenges. Talking to the doctor will all also allow other conditions to be ruled out that can mimic dementia. In this case, eye floaters, macular degeneration, and other eye health concerns as well as health concerns like UTIs, blood pressure, vascular issues, and the like can be addressed. However, you won’t know unless you talk to the doc. That is why they are paid…to know.
I wish I could make this mess go away for you and for mom and for everyone, but I can’t. It doesn’t matter how much of a fixer I am, I can’t fix this. Please know that thousands of brilliant folks are working day and night to make things better and ultimately find a medicine that will finially #EndALZ.
Bug exoskeleton or alien…you decide. 🙂 
Update: Nothing to report from mom’s camp this weekend. Hoping to see her Wednesday if possible. I miss the old days…
Reminder: Tomorrow is virtual support group evening at 6pm. If you would like to participate, email me at mark.applegate@senioragemo.org or call/text me at 417-955-2513 and I will send you my Zoom link. 🙂
Diet Update: Lost .2 this week. This is a huge win considering how much I indulged in my wife’s camping culinary crafts. This week will be better.
Dad Joke of the Day: Why don’t you see bison hiding in trees? Because they are good at it. –@JasonSteadham
Last passing thought: Imagine how newborn babies process visual cues?!?! They have no reference points, no words, no familiar anything…and the building blocks begin. Amazing… Then they have these building blocks for decades…then lose them. Equally amazingly tragic.
