Those were the words I have in my journal from December 2009, and these words were said in a bad temper by Mac...I then go on to say he is so uptight and not sure of himself. Apparently the next day I had planned to go to Fairview to exchange things..(life is still like that -just went to Fairview center to exchange things yesterday)anyway going back to 2009, I then decided I would NOT go to Fairview, but would instead, go out WALKING with Mac, as the difference in his thinking and temperament when walking and after were absolutely clear.
I have just posted a video about exercise on Facebook - the video points out how very important exercise is for people over 50, how their lives are then enriched by better health as they get older. If there is anything enlightening about this blog for others it is that exercise, especially walking, is not only beneficial in a physical way, i.e. keeping your body strong enough to go up and down stairs, to do daily tasks of all kinds, including that simplest of tasks but a most important one is that of going to the toilet by yourself.
Remember that the brain functions better if one exercises, and that is the basic idea when one thinks of Alzheimer patients.
This blog was started in about 2012 or 13, have to check back, but in any case I see in my journal of 2007 the signs of Alzheimer in Mac, or a type of dementia that brought us to the doctor in the first place ..these are not ones that I see listed online for people to think of, but these are the ones I noted... .
1. Mac cannot seem to turn his head to check when backing up in the car, he relies on his side mirrors.
2. doing exercises in bed with me in the morning, can not twist his ankles from side to side.
3. writing which was always so clear, becoming less so, spelling off target.
4. He also could not seem to write on the lines or focus on them
5. His short term memory not so bad.
6. His long term memory fine
7. Memory for faces and names - poor
8. His reading slower, though he is still doing crossword puzzles and reading the paper every day.
9. Still walking every day
10. Having trouble dialing phone or hearing people on the phone.
As you can see, the teacher part of me took over, and I was watching and checking everything.
He had been diagnosed from these and other signs in 2007..and by 2009 as mentioned above, he would be so temperamental and unsure, but walking made him much better and continued to do so until the end in 2015.
Of course, because of the disease, he progressively became unable to do so much, this I wrote about but I just thought I would put the list in for good measure, and again focus on how important it is to exercise. I'm writing this for myself as well, as I have gained weight and see how easy it is to sit back now that I don't have my incentive i.e. my Mac..and how gaining the weight has made me less keen to move my body..so that has to stop..so today..I went for a walk in the snow drifts, will do some dancercise before bed. and practice what I preach.
So now to put some good exercise music on and get going, I'm going to start the New Year right. Sooo
g'nite.
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