Could Be, Maybe, Do I?

Can you walk backward and count down from 50,  while maintaining a steady gait?  If you can, then you may not have Alzheimer's Disease. I read this in the New York Times this morning.  Five  new studies have linked hesitant,  slow, or unsteady gait to an eventual diagnosis of dementia, including Alzheimer's.


The studies could lead to developing a tool that doctors could use "to forecast if not diagnose,"  possible Alzheimer's Disease, the article said.  This is one of the top ten most-e-mailed articles in the Times today.  People are scared of Alzheimer's. 

I am. My mother  was diagnosed with it when she was seven years older than I am now, and watching her decline was the saddest, most searing experience of my life.   Ever since then, I've worried about it.

I monitor every memory lapse.  I read articles like this one.  Researchers are always throwing out possible markers for an Alzheimer's diagnosis (impaired hearing is another), but what can you do with that information?  A neurologist I consulted about a sleep problem told me that she strongly advises patients not to have a brain scan to see if they have Alzheimer's because there's nothing that can be done.  I agree with her, but I still want to know.  I think.  What I really want to know is that I don't have it.

 Last night, before I read the gait article,  I decided that, given recent lapses,  I may very well have Alzheimer's.  What would I do differently if that were true?  The first thing that came to mind was getting our gardener to come more often because  I'm tired of maintaining the front and back yard.  That was all I could think of.  And in general to use my time more wisely, even if I have to be ruthless.

Now I just tried walking backward and counting down from 50, and I could do it!  Shall I call the gardener or not? Yes.