Saturday, February 25, 2006

Diagnosis: Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease: My First Entry: Saturday 2/25/06

It's been three days since I was diagnosed with early onset alzheimer's disease. It's been an emotional ride and has made me reflect on my life and the beginnings of my journey. My journey began when I was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1951. It took a long time for me to realize that my particular journey in life was going to include alzheimer's disease. I think I first became aware that something was wrong in 2000. That's when I first noticed having difficulty with reading. Reading had always been a big part of my life. Since childhood I never turned out the light to go to sleep without reading at least several pages. But in 2000 I began having difficulty remembering the paragraph I had just read. I would find my self constantly going back and re-reading trying to remember what the paragraph said. It got to the point where it was taking me a year to finish a book. During the past year or so, I'd find my brain going blank sometimes in the middle of a sentence or having difficulty with words. After mutilple tests over the course of several months, I was finally diagnosed three days ago with EOAD (Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease) which is the diagnosis given for those diagnosed under the age of 65. My neurologist prescribed Aricept during this visit. I still go about my daily life and work. Keeping a journal is something I think will be beneficial to me and I hope to others who find their way to my blog. I've never done one before and this shall be a part of my adventure. Gordon