Treading Dark Waters - a Column by Ray Burow

This year’s Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC) revealed surprising news about risk factors related to Alzheimer’s, adolescents, young adults, and diagnosis. For years, researchers have believed and touted that on average, Alzheimer’s patients are diagnosed at 80, and symptoms appear after 60. However, new research reveals that the…

Physical exercise plays a significant role in defense against Alzheimer’s disease, according to an article from Biomedical Reports. Aging is a cognitive impairment risk factor, but aerobic and other physical exercise and activities decrease risks that often accompany diseases affecting the brain. Those factors include: obesity, hypertension leading to…

Taking control of an uncontrollable situation Alzheimer’s disease, thief that it is, steals control. The loss of one’s memory is more than the dissipation of a series of compiled experiences. Losing memory encompasses everything that was once learned and some things that just came naturally, like swallowing a pill…

We were hopeful that COVID-19 would be long gone by now, but unfortunately, it continues its persistent trek across the country. Elderly parents are missing their families, who have been barred from visiting nursing facilities due to the possibility of spreading COVID-19. Seniors are feeling a little lost without interaction…

We’re in an election year in the U.S., no news there. If your mail experience is similar to mine, you already are more than aware of this. A few years ago, a retiring mailman explained to me that election year deliveries are more taxing on his colleagues and him than…

Caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease is challenging enough without caustic, inaccurate criticisms leveled against the caregiver. Sadly, it happens, and what’s even sadder is that we caregivers are often the culprits behind it. Avoid comparing yourself to another caregiver Comparing yourself to another caregiver may provide you with…

Little annoyances often are the most frustrating for caregivers. Well, perhaps they’re not the most frustrating, but those small irritants certainly do rank right up there. These challenges don’t stem directly from the jobs related to caregiving or the person for whom care is provided. Rather, caregivers become exasperated with…

Two million men in the United States have been diagnosed with some form of dementia, the most common of which is Alzheimer’s disease. More than 75% of caregivers in the United States are women. I don’t have the stats on how many of those women provide care for…

Think back to your school days. Remember the anticipation that arrived on the first day of June? School dismissed for the summer, and all that lay ahead were barefoot walks through warm grass, meetups with friends at a local swimming pool or beach, and the predictable brain freeze incurred following…

People who have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease live a somewhat sheltered life. Under normal circumstances, this isn’t a good thing. Separation created by Alzheimer’s disease is loathsome — that is, until the world around us seems to implode. One of the few positives of…