RaisingDad

I remember back when I was a kid, my parents got me a very expensive gift for Christmas that I absolutely could not live without. It cost them about a hundred dollars, and in those days a hundred dollars was a lot of money, especially on my father's paycheck. Being in the lower single-digits age-wise, I ended up just playing with the very big box the gift came in.      The following Christmas, I overheard my father tell my mother, "Why don't we just buy him another box and get something for ourselves instead?"      Raising My Father RaisingMyFather.BlogSpot.com JimDuchene.BlogSpot.com  American Chimpanzee @JimDuchene  

I told you last week how my wife and I ran into an old buddy of mine at Costco. He was with his wife. A nd then I told you how that very same buddy had recently been diagnosed pre-Alzheimer's.      Well, my buddy and I sat down in the snack area to catch up on current events. I even bought him a slice of pizza and something to drink, because 1) I was hungry and don't like to eat in front of other people when they're not eating, and 2) if I waited for him to treat me to a pizza and something to drink I'd be waiting an awfully long time. I'm not saying he's cheap, but copper wire was invented when he and his dad fought over a penny. Meanwhile, my wife and his wandered off into the huge warehouse to see who could get to zero on their bank accounts first.      In the privacy of the Costco aisles, my wife later told me that she asked my buddy's wife, “How is it having a husband with Alzheimer’s?”    ...

Sad news.      Even sadder than usual.      A friend of mine from work was recently diagnosed pre-Alzheimer's. He's retired and spends a lot of his time searching the internet for a cure. It gives him hope, I guess.      When my lovely wife and I recently ran into him and his wife at Costco, the wife started explaining the sad situation to us.       “But I’ve got a great doctor,” my friend cut in. There was never a conversation he didn't want to dominate.      “You do?” my wife asked, being polite. “Maybe I know him. What’s his name?”      “Aw, jeez,” my friend said, “his name. You know, with this Alzheimer’s, sometimes I forget things.”      My wife and I nodded our heads in sympathy.       “His name... his name...” he said, trying ...

My father and I have just returned home from an appointment with his doctor.     He doesn’t drive any more. Since he now lives with me, I find myself chauffeuring him around to conduct his personal business. I always thought the older you got, the less you did. Apparently, that’s not the case. At least with my father. I’m always taking him here or there, doing this or that.     He’s closer to the end of his century than the beginning and has been diagnosed pre-Alzheimer’s. You might think that Alzheimer’s is something that happens to someone else, but don’t fool yourself, we’re all pre-Alzheimer’s. We just need to live long enough for it to catch up with us.     It's 11am. Still early. He's studying the medicine his doctor prescribed, and which we've just picked up from the pharmacy.     "Can you believe the price of this medication?" he asks.     Of course I can. I just p...