What seemed like mental laziness, when I could not remember colleagues of 20 years, or when I would be unable to follow a conversation or find the words to make a comment, or when I could not retain a simple set of directions, turned out not to mental laziness, but the culprit Alzheimer s was at work. My world was changing. The disease would progress. I had no doubt about that. This could be the end of the story.
Some people think of the AD diagnosis as the end, as a death sentence .
But I, and my dear wife Sylvia, decided it didn t have to be that way. I did have choices. I could choose to focus on what it is that I have and not on what it is that I don t have. I could choose to make use of the cognitive abilities that remain with me and not cling to the ones being lost. So, I m with you today.