Me: My, there certainly is a crowd of you.
Dementias: Yes. Brilliant observation touched one.
Me: Must you all speak in one voice like that? It's creepy. And the other people here are staring at you.
Dementias: Oh please. We are out wrecking the lives of loved ones and family members everywhere and you go all assimilation on us. What kind of radical are you?
Me: Hey! That's not fair.
Dementias: Get used to it. There are lots of things about us that aren't fair.
Waitress: Are you ready to order yet?
Me: I'll take--
Dementias: Diminishing daily functioning, short-term memory loss, behavioral challenges, motor vehicle accidents, amusica, expressive aphasia, urinary incontinence and a side of Death please.
Waitress: Be right back.
Dementias: Another scared one. She won't be back.
Me: You are rather brutal.
Dementias: You are rather smug. You don't know a thing about us, do you?
Me: I know that with medications, the real misery is delayed.
Dementias: Quite the bearer of hope, aren't you? We bet you shared that particular gem with your loved one.
Me: Huh?
Dementias: Most of us are irreversible and you come with pills.
Me: But meds can help functioning.
Dementias: About as hopeful as the word "remission" when used in conjunction with the phrase "adeno-bronchial carcinoma".
Me: But--
Dementias: Repeat after me: No ifs, ands, or buts. Where are you? What season is it? What month is it? What is today's date. Who is the President? Count backwards by 7s from 100. Your brain scans came back abnormal. We are concerned. The time to quit driving is yesterday. Prepare to die.
Me: You are impossible.
Dementias: And you are a damn social worker type. That stuff doesn't work well in actual living.
Me: What does work well?
Dementias: Everything works for the first two weeks. Attention to routines. Safety-proofing the house. Explore alternative living situations. Get involved. Join a support group. Regular visits with medical professionals. Remove the distributor cap. Sell the car. Divorce. Become financially destitute in order to receive help.
Me: But where is the hope? There must be hope!
Dementias: Research. Clinical trials. Distraction.
Me: Distraction?
Dementias: Yeah. Distract us. Play with us. Befriend us. Prepare to die. We always kill the ones we love.
Manager: Have you decided what to order yet?
Me: No thanks. I really must go now. I'm not hungry. And I think I left a cake burning in the oven. See yas. Wouldn't want to be yas.
Dementias: Chicken. There goes another one. Too bad. That one could have been a great advocate.
Roasted chicken with a side of burn-out. And step on it Mister. We don't have a whole lot of time to waste.
sapphoq n friends
Five organizations. Use your search engine if you need more.
Alzheimer's Association
225 North Michigan Avenue
Floor 17
Chicago, IL 60601-7633
http://www.alz.org/index.asp
24/7 Helpline: 1.800.272.3900
Office: 312.335.8700
TDD: 312.335.5886
Fax: 866.699.1246
Lewey Body Dementia Association
912 Killian Hill Road, S.W.
Lilburn, GA 30047
http://www.lbda.org/node/14
LBD Caregiver Link: 1.800.539.9767
Office: 404.935.6444
Fax: 480.422.5434
Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD)
Radnor Station Building #2 Suite 320
290 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087
http://www.theaftd.org
Helpline: 1.866.507.7222 (Not staffed 24/7. Plz. leave a message).
Office: 267.514.7221
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) Foundation Inc.341 W. 38th Street, Suite 501
New York, NY 10018
http://www.cjdfoundation.org
Tel: 1.800.659.1991
Office: 212.719.5900
National Parkinson Foundation
1501 N.W. 9th Avenue / Bob Hope Road
Miami, Florida 33136-1494
http://www.parkinson.org/home.aspx
Helpline: 800.473.4636 (800.4PD.INFO)
National Headquarters: 305.243.6666
Office, toll-free: 1.800.327.4545
Fax: 305.243.6073
To reach us by phone:
LBD Caregiver Link: 800.539.9767
National Office (Atlanta, GA): 404.935.6444
National Office Fax: 480.422.5434
Please send all postal mail to:
LBDA
912 Killian Hill Road, S.W.
Lilburn, GA 30047 - See more at: http://www.lbda.org/?q=contact#sthash.ZUI0xfAG.dpuf
LBD Caregiver Link: 800.539.9767
National Office (Atlanta, GA): 404.935.6444
National Office Fax: 480.422.5434
Please send all postal mail to:
LBDA
912 Killian Hill Road, S.W.
Lilburn, GA 30047 - See more at: http://www.lbda.org/?q=contact#sthash.ZUI0xfAG.dpuf
To reach us by phone:
LBD Caregiver Link: 800.539.9767
National Office (Atlanta, GA): 404.935.6444
National Office Fax: 480.422.5434
Please send all postal mail to:
LBDA
912 Killian Hill Road, S.W.
Lilburn, GA 30047 - See more at: http://www.lbda.org/?q=contact#sthash.ZUI0xfAG.dpuf
LBD Caregiver Link: 800.539.9767
National Office (Atlanta, GA): 404.935.6444
National Office Fax: 480.422.5434
Please send all postal mail to:
LBDA
912 Killian Hill Road, S.W.
Lilburn, GA 30047 - See more at: http://www.lbda.org/?q=contact#sthash.ZUI0xfAG.dpuf
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