The First Signs

So I guess all those little things you notice start to add up. For me, it wasn't any 'one' thing, it was the combination of all the things I was starting to notice. Forgetting special memories from my childhood, forgetting where she parked. . the food started not tasting quite the same. I could go on, but you get the idea. It was a combination of things.

I knew. I knew without a doubt, but now my task would be to get my mom into a doctor and get her on some meds ASAP. Everything I kept reading was saying that early detection was the key. I knew I could figure this out, I just needed a way to get her to see the doctor.

I have a good friend from high school that helped me get my mom into Duke Memory Clinic. It took me 3 attempts and 11 months to actually get her to go, to be tested and not to leave. The first time was just an orientation. The second time she was in the middle of extensive tests when the insurance lady came in and told her that her insurance would not pay. My mom, thinking she was fine anyway got up and walked out in the middle of the test. About 20 phone calls later, 2 cancelled appointments later (due to insurance problems once again) my mom finally got into see a doctor and was officially tested. This was in 2007.

The prognosis? Lets put her on Aricept and see how it goes. "She's got some memory problems, but I won't have an official diagnosis until we get a MRI and some further extensive testing."

And so the battle begins.