This is not the kind of blog I usually do in this website. However, I feel that it is important to highlight the fact that we have a choice in dealing with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), rather than just drifting along, hoping that the problems will go away.
What prompted this article is my aunt who was living in Missouri, USA and just passed away at the age of 92. She was a feisty woman who lived her life fully. She kept up some degree of physical exercise throughout her later years. She ate healthy food and kept a healthy life. She did experience various difficulties and stresses throughout her life, but managed to overcome them and lived a happy life, even after she lost her husband 17 years ago. Her mind was clear enough to have her asking when the US would get a new president just a week before her death.
On the other hand, my dear wife passed away a little over a year ago at the age of 71 with Alzheimer’s disease. She had various health issues. She had very high stress over many years for various reasons. In later years she did not have healthy meals regularly. She was an excellent baker and she lived on her wonderful bread for a long time – although delicious, it was not enough to make a healthy complete diet. Also, she had a very irregular sleeping pattern for many years. I am not sure if those things caused her to develop Alzheimer’s but I am certain they would have contributed to it. Her dementia lasted about 10 years. She was still able to enjoy her life reasonably well for quite a long time, but the last few years became rough. I was the main caregiver for her and I did the best I could to take care of her. Still, in the last six months she was lost completely and her life was very difficult.
I would not wish for anybody to go through what my wife went through. Our aim should be to follow my aunt’s path instead. I believe that we have a choice, at least to some extent. We need to make the decision and start taking action to do everything possible to keep our brains healthy, right away.
To accomplish this, I myself am doing everything possible. I am doing a lot of research and experimenting with various potential cures/treatments. I am fully aware that some of them may not help, but it’s worth trying. Thankfully, it seems that many of the things I am doing are helping. After three and a half years since my diagnosis, I don’t believe there is much decline in my cognitive capacity, although recalling some words is still a struggle at times.
It’s possible that my cognitive decline will eventually catch up on me, but aside from some minor frustrations, I am reasonably satisfied with my current condition. I am hoping that you will adapt some of the strategies I describe in this blog and stay healthy to enjoy your life fully too.
Living With MCI 