Glimpses

Dwane usually does not express any particular perceptions or happenings in relationship to his diagnosis. He has several times complained that his eyes feel like they are being pulled back into his head, which seems to coincide with a decline in his functioning. He also complains about his double vision, but he does not complains about, nor seems to notice, his inability to do things. A recent exception was when he expressed frustration over being unable to think of a word. I tried to help him by asking what topic he was going to be talking about, but he was unable even to verbalize that. And that is what seemed to frustrate him. I knew what he had been reading, so I was able to talk about it enough for him to catch the word, "ethics" and remember what he was going to say. It is puzzling to me. He realizes it is his brain that has difficulty finding and expressing words, but he does not realize it is his brain which makes it difficult for him to use a tv remote, or telephone, or do other multi-step tasks. Dementia is mysterious to me. I wish we could understand more what occurs, and even more -- what could prevent it.