[farmfriend]

I have an aunt with Alzheimer's. She is not doing real well. But then she has other health issues as well.

[Wilhelm Tell]

It is a horrible, cruel disease. It is watching someone slip away bit by bit, punctuated by an occasional crisis in which the person makes a sudden turn for the worse, then things level off but get slowly worse, followed by another crisis, and this goes on for years... It is cruel to the patient and cruel to the patient's family.

Having seen what it does to a person, it has made me bitter about life in general. Anyone can work hard his whole life and finally, when, according to the American Dream, life should become easier, one can be deprived of enjoying life because of this disease. That article brought back some unpleasant memories. Some things stay with you -- it has been years but I still often jump whenever the phone rings (being conditioned to have to rush to the hospital, or...).