Facing Down An Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: ‘The Beginning Is Like Purgatory’
Geri Taylor could not ignore the problem any longer when she looked in the mirror and didn't recognize her own face. That day started her and her husband down the path of navigating Alzheimer's.
The New York Times:
Fraying At The Edges
It began with what she saw in the bathroom mirror. On a dull morning, Geri Taylor padded into the shiny bathroom of her Manhattan apartment. She casually checked her reflection in the mirror, doing her daily inventory. Immediately, she stiffened with fright. Huh? What? She didn’t recognize herself. ... But to not recognize her own face! To Ms. Taylor, this was the “drop-dead moment” when she had to accept a terrible truth. She wasn’t just seeing the twitches of aging but the early fumes of the disease. (N. R. Kleinfield, 5/1)
In other news, a new pilot program in San Diego aims to cut down on Alzheimer's patients' wandering —
The San Diego Union-Tribune:
County To Fight Wandering With High-Tech Device
Daniel Baker of Rancho Bernardo has been wearing a device about the size of a garage door opener around his neck since shortly after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2014. The 82-year-old retiree who once owned several barbecue restaurants in East County said he feels a certain peace of mind about having the item on him at all times, even though he knows it tracks his every move. (Sisson, 4/30)