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I believe Alzheimer’s is among the ugliest of diseases as it robs people...especially the elderly...of their most prized possessions...that being of of fond memories and their dignity.

I recall taking my Mother to get her hair “fixed” while she was in a nursing home. She had been a beautician for over 30 years and was picky about how her hair looked. I sat across the room from her and watched her sitting underneath the hair dryer...mostly nodding and barely able to keep her head up...and then she slightly looked up at me and smiled. I saw a slight spark in her eyes I hadn’t seen for over a year...and would never see again. She died from this terrible disease 3 years later. And my siblings and I had to make a gut-wrenching decision about whether we should put her on life support.

Alzheimer’s will be an epidemic in the years to come. And many families will be exposed to this terrible disease. I pray that there will be medical break-thoughs in diagnosis and treatment.

I am told but do not know if true that those with the disease do not know of their ailment when it’s in its’ later stages and so do not suffer with the knowledge of being aware of what they have lost.

Is this true? Seems as if it would be difficult to know about this given the nature of the illness.