In my forty years of involvement in the field of medicine, I met lots of people battling all sorts of diseases. All these diseases affected these people's lives to various degrees. However, one of these diseases has always really moved me, Alzheimer's disease.
Seeing intelligent, involved and often extremely talented individuals, who have accomplished a great many things, being hit by such a disease, troubles me immensely.
Losing one's cognitive faculties, no longer remembering, becoming disoriented, no longer recognizing one's own family, no longer knowing where one is and losing one's personality to the point of being unrecognizable, this makes me highly sensitive to the cause.
I am very empathetic to the person with Alzheimer's, as well as his/her family, friends and loved ones. These people are suffering, they are troubled and their lives have changed. They don’t understand and too often they cannot accept what they consider as inacceptable.
The ill person and his/her family circle need help. Research is necessary and it is progressing. However, there are still several stages to be overcome. While we wait for the results, we must get involved and bring as much support as possible to those affected by this disease. One way of getting involved is to generously support our Alzheimer Society. It is doing an excellent job.
We must believe that one day this scourge will disappear from our lives.
