Did you know that there are more than 5 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer’s Disease? How about the fact that every 72 seconds someone develops Alzheimer’s Disease? Did you know that National Memory Screening Day is November 13? If you didn’t know the answers, then maybe you should learn more about it because it can happen to anybody, even as young as 30 years of age.
Alzheimer’s is a progressive form of presenile dementia that is similar to senile dementia except that it usually starts in the 40s or 50s, but might actually start sooner than that. The first symptoms are impaired memory which is followed by impaired thought and speech and finally complete helplessness.
It is scary to think that one day your memory may be completely gone, have no recollection of who anyone is or how they are connected to you. There is treatment though, and like most diseases, the earlier it is caught the better. Find a local screening where you live, and they can help you keep who you are in tact.
While it may be important to start preventing and treating new cases, we also have to remember that there are people in the world who are already in the advanced stages of this. For them it is more important to be comfortable, and to do that you can donate to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. Your donation will help get those who are shadows of their former selves back into the way they used to be. One day that might be you, wouldn’t you want to donate for yourself?
