How dare the thief take so much, destroy so much, and then want to take even
more? Will the thief not be satiated until there is nothing but a shell? It angers me just to identify the power this thief renders over us, the potential of eviscerating memory, cognition, language, even the ability to write one’s name. Damn the disease with the capital A, damn that disease! Damn Alzheimer’s!
I am used to helping! I am used to finding solutions, not accepting there is nothing that can be done, connecting with someone else to make a difference. The world in which I live, that of supporting Ostomates, is filled with loss of organs, adjusting to new body functions, fitting of appliances and new cottage industry accessories created by Ostomates for Ostomates. It is a world where I can make a difference, because a better life is potentially in the future for those reaching out to me. It is always my belief that if I mentor in the best way, the Ostomate will adjust and go
on to look back with a wonderful feeling of accomplishment. It is, in the most basic form, rewarding and positive. I have the tools to make it so for many in my community.

But the disease that I refer to as the thief, this violent offender, this unabashed
criminal takes whatever it desires, leaving the victim stunned and lost. It doesn’t
discriminate between the brightest, the healthiest, the strongest or the most
accomplished in their field. It doesn’t show respect for the most loving, caring,
supportive, or giving. It certainly doesn’t look at one who has so much to offer
and turn away. In that way, it very much looks at all of us as equal. It is strong,
and we, in its face, continue to be weak.

We observed the fallout of the pillage of one of the many neurological syndromes
of Alzheimer’s Disease, Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) recently. It is
breathtaking in its cruelty! Our beautiful and brilliant lifelong friend, who intuited
medical diagnoses from the first symptoms, who did so well as a student in one of
the finest medical schools in the county that he had time to teach himself to paint
with a pallet knife for relaxation, who was as down to earth as he could have had
his head in the clouds, is a victim of PPA. He is being robbed of his ability to
retrieve words, to speak, and to write. His short-term memory is fading, as are
other neurological modalities. We are losing him, as he has lost himself.

Contrary to my customary ability to find a rainbow or something shiny and bright
in most situations, I am unable to leave you with one today. It is heartbreaking to
watch something as insidious, as arrogant, as offensive, and as debilitating attack
someone so special. I am bereft, sad, and affected deeply, and I join hands and
send love to so many who live in the valley of the shadow of this dread disease…

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