Every Friday evening we talk to Buck's mother in Pennsylvania. After our conversation last night, I think, more and more, something she said comes under the heading of "celebration."
First, back up a few years. I was in a serious vehicle accident in which I was nearly killed. Fortunately I survived with little physical injuries. It wasn't until about 6 weeks after the accident that I realized there was something very, very wrong. I had suffered a closed head injury during the accident. Think of it along the lines of shaken baby syndrome. My brain was shaken around inside my skull pretty severely during the accident.
As a result, I ended up with very serious short term memory loss. I felt as though I was in prison or some sort of living he!!. I would be getting ready for the day in the bathroom. I'd reach for my hairbrush, put it down on the counter and, then, look at it wondering why it was on the counter. I never knew what day it was and, as a result, had calendars in every room of the house (including the bathroom) and my car. I used the daily paper to tell me what each day was as a foundation for my calendar use.
I couldn't read. I'd get to the bottom of a page and not even know what I'd read. I'd read the page again and again. Still no comprehension. I couldn't knit or crochet any more. I couldn't follow recipes to cook. Housework went undone because I'd forget to do it. Or think I'd done it.
When it came to doing some of my design work, I would sit down to create a design and do the necessary calculations and everything on the page would seem as though it came from Mars. Things I'd done hundreds, thousands of times were foreign to me.
Okay, long story short. Through a quirky series of events, I became part of a clinical study investigating an Alzheimer's drug to treat memory loss after head injury. Bingo!
Since participating in the study I've been taking Aricept and have regained my memory 100%. I fell as though I've been given my life back. No more memory prison.
During our conversations over the last couple of months, Buck's mother discussed some memory problems she'd been experiencing and asked about the drug I take. She also said her boyfriend was having similar difficulties.
Fast forward to last night. Buck's mother told us she'd been taking Aricept for several weeks and was seeing improvement. She said Elliott, her boyfriend, was also responding to treatment. All this made me very happy.
So my celebrations is, from my awful accident, two people other than myself are receiving treatment for and relief of their memory problems. Just proves a silver lining can always be found in an ugly cloud. I'm so happy for both of them.
First, back up a few years. I was in a serious vehicle accident in which I was nearly killed. Fortunately I survived with little physical injuries. It wasn't until about 6 weeks after the accident that I realized there was something very, very wrong. I had suffered a closed head injury during the accident. Think of it along the lines of shaken baby syndrome. My brain was shaken around inside my skull pretty severely during the accident.
As a result, I ended up with very serious short term memory loss. I felt as though I was in prison or some sort of living he!!. I would be getting ready for the day in the bathroom. I'd reach for my hairbrush, put it down on the counter and, then, look at it wondering why it was on the counter. I never knew what day it was and, as a result, had calendars in every room of the house (including the bathroom) and my car. I used the daily paper to tell me what each day was as a foundation for my calendar use.
I couldn't read. I'd get to the bottom of a page and not even know what I'd read. I'd read the page again and again. Still no comprehension. I couldn't knit or crochet any more. I couldn't follow recipes to cook. Housework went undone because I'd forget to do it. Or think I'd done it.
When it came to doing some of my design work, I would sit down to create a design and do the necessary calculations and everything on the page would seem as though it came from Mars. Things I'd done hundreds, thousands of times were foreign to me.
Okay, long story short. Through a quirky series of events, I became part of a clinical study investigating an Alzheimer's drug to treat memory loss after head injury. Bingo!
Since participating in the study I've been taking Aricept and have regained my memory 100%. I fell as though I've been given my life back. No more memory prison.
During our conversations over the last couple of months, Buck's mother discussed some memory problems she'd been experiencing and asked about the drug I take. She also said her boyfriend was having similar difficulties.
Fast forward to last night. Buck's mother told us she'd been taking Aricept for several weeks and was seeing improvement. She said Elliott, her boyfriend, was also responding to treatment. All this made me very happy.
So my celebrations is, from my awful accident, two people other than myself are receiving treatment for and relief of their memory problems. Just proves a silver lining can always be found in an ugly cloud. I'm so happy for both of them.
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