”Ugh, Mom! I told you that only two weeks ago already. Why do you always have to ask me the same things over and over again? You haven’t been like this when I was a child!”
”I’m sorry, Julian. It’s not on purpose, I promise. Everything just seems to slip away lately. I’m not sleeping well either.”
”Then maybe you should stop drinking so much coffee when meeting up with your knitting club”, Julian scoffed. ”Seriously, mom, you need to take more care of yourself. What would dad say, when he’d be still alive? Probably something along the lines of ’You need to sleep more, Rose.’.”
”I’m not drinking any coffee anymore!”, Rose protested. ”I just can’t seem to keep a normal sleep schedule. I constantly wake up at night and fall asleep during the day.”
”Sure, mom. I have to leave now, see you next week at the same time?”
Rose sighed but nodded and hugged her son goodbye. As she watched him walk down the driveway, she couldn’t shake the feeling of disappointment. Her son didn’t believe her, just filed her problems under old people problems. But Rose knew something wasn’t right. Her mind felt like a swiss cheese, filled with holes.
Maybe she should have told Julian that the irregular sleeping rhythm wasn’t the only problem. Sometimes, she woke up and was standing in the middle of the road, disoriented and afraid, only wearing her pajamas.
Something was off and Rose was afraid to know what exactly. She had always avoided seeing doctors as long as she could. Sometimes, that had led to some rather dangerous health issues, but in the end, it had always worked out.
For some reason, Rose felt like this time, she wouldn’t get off the hook so easily. For several minutes, she stared at the telephone that was laying on the desk. It was one of those smart phones, Julia had gotten it for her. Rose wasn’t very comfortable using most of the functions, but it was enough to call the doctor.
With a heavy heart, she grabbed the phone and dialed her doctor’s number.
”The MRT does not look good, I am sorry. It looks like you have got Alzheimer’s disease. And it’s already in a very progressed state.”
Rose closed her eyes for a few moments and reminded herself to take deep breaths. Yes, this was the diagnosis she had feared but expected. Alzheimer’s.
”Are you alright?”, the Doctor asked.
”Yes, yes, I’m sorry”, Rose answered. ”I kind of expected this result. It happened to my mother too, when she was a certain age. And I noticed the same symptoms she had, happening to me.”
The pitiful look on the doctor’s face made her want to vomit. This is not what she wanted. She didn’t want people to pity her. The disease didn’t eradicate the human she had been before. At least that’s what she wanted to believe. She knew that it wasn’t the truth. More and more, her mind would fade and that’s how people would remember her. The thought hurt.
”We have certain medication that can slow down the process a little bit, but I’m afraid we can’t completely cure you”, the Doctor continued. ”Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by misfolded proteins that accumulate in the brain and we haven’t yet found a way to get rid of those. It’s said that aerobic exercise can help to preserve brain functions, so I’d recommend those in addition to the medication.”
”Thank you, Doctor”, Rose said. She didn’t really mean it.
”Please mom, eat at least something! You’re already so thin.”
”I’m feeling extremely nauseous Robert, I’m afraid eating won’t be possible.”
”Robert?!” Robert seemed shocked, but Rose didn’t understand why.
”Mom, it’s me, Julian! Dad has been dead for five years now.”
”Dead? What are you talking about, you’re sitting right in front of me! And who is Julian? I like that name, I think I want to name our first son Julian. What do you think, Robert?”
Robert stood up, visibly distressed.
”I’ll be right back”, he said.
”You’re behaving strangely”, Rose told him. She couldn’t understand why Robert was acting this way. She could see him on the phone, calling someone. When did phones get so small? He ended the call and came back to the kitchen.
”I’m sorry mom. I just called the retirement home. They’re prepared to finally take you in. I’m afraid your sickness has advanced too far. I can’t deal with this anymore.”
Sources:
A systematic review of biomarkers for disease progression in Alzheimer's disease
Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease
The sleep-wake cycle and Alzheimer's disease: what do we know?
Genetic determinants of disease progression in Alzheimer's disease
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