Have you ever known someone with Alzheimer's? If so, how did that experience compare to Pru and Spence's?

Have you ever known someone with Alzheimer's? If so, how did that experience compare to Pru and Spence's?

Surely everyone is either related to or knows someone with Alzheimer’s. I don’t really think you can compare one person’s experience to another person’s experience and I’d rather not try.

Yes, I lost my father-in-law to the disease about 15 years ago. His started fairly early (in his 60s), but many elements can be compared: loss of memory, loss of personality, in general loss of the person you knew. How people react to it is a different story: my mother-in-law was in denial, since his had been the dominant personality for the whole of their marriage. Plus his was a violent case which required more family intervention (my husband and I).

Agree with Peggyt that the experience varies greatly. I have had some exposure to dementia induced by meningitis and that was absolutely frightening. Fortunately, the afflicted person has regained much of their mental capacity but just that brief glimpse is enough to appreciate the very difficult job of caretakers who look after Alzheimer's patients day in and day out. In a way, it seems quite similar to any hospice situation where you know it's a one-way road and some days that road is so darn rough.

No one that I was close to or would even visit has had Alzheimer’s. My heart certainly goes out to family members and the people who suffer from this devastating disease. This book made me think even more about what the families and their loved ones go through.

Yes, my mother was diagnosed with hardening of the arteries and later with dementia. The Alzheimer's diagnosis was made in 1975 and she died ten years later in 1985. Very few books on the disease was written at the time and we, a family of ten brothers and sisters were torn apart by resentment of those siblings spending less time in the care for her. Had we known more about the disease we would, I believe, made better decisions.

My mother had dementia and eventually died from complications from the disease. While dementia is not Alzheimers - there are similarities. My siblings and I believe that my father knew my mother had something for years but kept it from us. When he was in the final months of his life, he hinted that something was amiss but didn't come out and say anything directly. The main difference is that Pru was open about Spence's diagnosis with her children (eventually). My great wish is that my father was above board about it with the children so we could have been better prepared after he passed. This book brought that out for me (for better or worse).

No, I haven’t had anyone close to me exhibit those symptoms. My mother passed one month shy of her 96th bday and was still quick witted and intellectually sharp. After reading this book it makes me even more grateful she didn’t experience mental decline .

I'm lucky, I guess, in that I've never known someone with Alzheimer's. My grandpa had a bunch of mini strokes that led to dementia and, eventually, his death, but I was too young to really be aware of what all that was like. I'm certain my grandma was the sole caretaker, though, so I imagine she had a lot of challenges and stress dealing with his decline. But we never talked about it, unfortunately.

My mother, like Spence, had early onset Alzheimer's, beginning when she was 60 or so. She was very bright and hid it successfully for awhile, but by the time of her death at age 80, she was essentially a 2 year old. Her care fell to my father and the one sister who was living in the same town. It really wore my father out and he followed her in death within 6 weeks. The sister who lived there resented me and my other sister for not being able to be there. It's hard on everyone. And it is a huge loss that goes on in bits and pieces for years. The experiences of the family depicted in the book are fairly accurate. Our family was fortunate to have the financial means to get as much help as was needed; not the case for everyone

My mother in law passed away from Alzheimers about 10 years ago. It is a horrible disease and hard on everyone, I think the family struggles more than the person who is suffering from the disease itself, because as they progress, they don't really know who they once were. Or at least it seems that way to me. My mother in law was as happy as can be, but her children grieved for her for many years before she was actually gone. I pray for a cure every day.