“In Case Tomorrow”: A Letter From An Alzheimer’s Patient To His Wife

Every year multiple conferences and public events are held on the occasion of World Alzheimer’s Day. The purpose is to inform the population more about this disease.

Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most devastating ailments, both for patients and their families. The progressive forgetfulness to which this evil leads to blurring identity, roots and even the present itself.

The Alzheimer’s drama

The World Association for Genomic Medicine indicates that almost 70% of Alzheimer’s patients do not respond to medication. Added to this discrete efficacy are the adverse effects of medications to treat this disease, as indicated in an article published in the Clinical Journal of Family Medicine.

More research, more means and resources are required so that geneticists can go beyond slowing the progress, once the disease is diagnosed. It is also necessary to be able to prevent it, delve into the study of genes and correct that failure that, to this day, is still unknown.

From this space we want to invite you to learn a little more about Alzheimer’s. If there is someone in your family with this diagnosis, surely you know what is that area that forgetfulness cannot take away: emotions.

The importance of preventive programs

The most effective way to avoid Alzheimer’s disease would be to delay its onset through preventive programs. Although it is true that this measure does not yet exist, today there are many aspects that specialists are clear about:

• From the age of 30, the brain begins to lose the plasticity that it has in early childhood and youth. A slow neural destruction begins which, of course, can always be balanced with proper lifestyle habits.

• The human genome has more than 600 identified genes. One of them causes Alzheimer’s disease to develop slowly, silently and progressively until, at an advanced age, the first symptoms appear.

• The brain of a person suffering from Alzheimer’s has problems of anatomical and functional connectivity between the different brain structures. In addition, acetylcholine is also lost, a substance that allows communication between nerve cells.
• The first symptoms usually appear between the ages of 65 and 70.
• There is an obvious difficulty in retaining new information, there are minor disorientations, lapses, loss of fluency in vocabulary …
• Experts always recommend individualized treatments. No Alzheimer’s patient is the same as another; hence the therapeutic and pharmacological treatment must be adequate for each person.

The power of emotions

There is something that must be very clear: if a caregiver treats an Alzheimer’s patient badly, he will not remember his visit, nor what he did to him. Now, that inappropriate gesture, those words or that treatment will have a significant impact on that person.

The reason? Alzheimer’s can make them forget the name of the children, the current date, the last time they ate or if they are young or old; but the happy moments continue to be remembered. And, even more, affected people  react to positive stimuli.

• If you make the mistake of yelling at them, or doing something that makes them feel sad, that feeling will stay with them for a long time. They are very sensitive to those kinds of emotions; hence the need to always use positive language, or to use the power of caresses or hugs.

• Alzheimer’s patients react amazingly to music. It activates a brain area directly linked to emotions, making them open up to the world again. It is very positive.

• The emotional life of an Alzheimer’s patient is always alive. His memory has been “fraying”, but the wonderful power of emotions remains intact.

Specialists recommend something very important: if a relative indicates, for example, that they are going to see their mother, they should not make the mistake of saying:

– “But she has been dead for 50 years! Don’t you remember? “

If you do, the person will again suffer an unnecessary emotional shock. That is why you should avoid causing them additional suffering.

Letter from an Alzheimer’s patient to his wife

This letter was written in 2014. Although it was written by a journalist for a literary contest, it became a viral text on social media, because many patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s identified with it .

Without a doubt, there is something that we cannot forget. People who are diagnosed with this disease go through a very hard experience .

Knowing that the days are going to go against you, that oblivion will be inevitable, is something that forces you to reflect on the importance of valuing everything you have now. Remember who you love, and why. This simple letter recalls precisely all of this.

Do not forget…

There is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease and the available treatments are limited. However, those who suffer from this disease have their emotions alive and can suffer a lot if they are mistreated or misunderstood.