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Showing posts from September, 2011

What is Dementia?

            Marge’s husband, George, would call for her and she would come running. But when she came into the room he would say, “Who are you? I want Marge!” She would say, “It is me, George,” and he would reply, “But you’re an old woman, I want my wife, Marge.” This was devastating for Marge. George couldn’t remember the recent times and what his wife now looked like as an older woman. All he could remember was his young bride. Later, after George’s death, Marge was able to laugh about how silly it was. George would wake up in bed next to his wife and call for “Marge” wondering why an old woman was in the bed with him. You had to either cry or laugh about it.             George had some sort of Dementia. Probably it was Alzheimer’s Disease; a common form. But there are many types of Dementia and not everyone with memory or cognitive issues has Alzheimer’s. Dementias are classified in various ways. Most are grouped by common symptoms or the part of the brain that is affected.