MIAMI – During Alzheimer’s & Brain Awareness Month, the Alzheimer’s Association is highlighting common stigmas and misconceptions people have about the disease and other dementia.
“The first six months is when I deteriorated quite a bit. It has affected my speech a lot. As the years have progressed, my short term memory is about the same,” he said.
“You get that diagnosis and it’s pretty devastating,” Dale said. “There’s two ways to go. You can say I’m done. I mean, it’s so easy to sit in front of the tv turn it on and wait to die, you know, or you can still fight and keep active.”
“When people hear the word Alzheimer’s disease, they immediately think of someone in the end stage of the disease. But the reality is that individuals living with Alzheimer’s disease are still vibrant and can engage and live quality lives,” she said.
Other families say they want people to know that you can ask a person how they are doing and not their caregiver. Talking around someone with early-stage disease can make them feel more isolated and alone.
source: CBS News
