I think you can only do what you feel is in your own best interest. It is no different than if you had cancer. You can go all over the globe, exhausting yourself in many futile efforts for a cure, or you can make the decision to live your life to the fullest and take whatever treatments will allow you to do that. I am a nurse, and I have seen too many people waste what precious time they have left going from Dr to Dr, and then experiencing the anxiety and depression when the "latest" treatment doesn't work. Let me enjoy my family and friends and cherish each moment while I feel good, and can still remember what's going on. Most of all, I want to be happy and have as little stress as possible.
I understand completely what you're saying. I struggle with this almost daily in trying to help my mother deal with her Alzheimer's. Do I accept that this is her fate and try to make her days the best they can be and just let what is be, or do I try and try and try again all the new "cures" and hopes. I still research for cures and occasionally I'll just come upon something and wonder if it's God speaking to me, that this is it, this is the one that will work. What to do, what not to do. Will I have regrets either way. What is the best for her?
David, I'm so pleased to e-meet you. As caregiver to my parents (both with dementia, not Alzheimer's, and as a medical writer I know the difference), I'm getting weary of being given solutions to what may or may not be a problem. I understand all the groaning and moaning around "this dreadful, horrible disease" but I don't like the word disease, and I don't like the negativity that fills everyone's mind when the topic comes up. I'm a positive, happy person, and should I encounter the challenge of dementia, I hope to keep that energy in my life. You seem like a courageous and compassionate individual, a brilliant writer, and a keen observer. Keep on! I'm all ears and eyes and heart.
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