Hello, I'm Agatha
Thrash a staff physician from
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Uchee Pines Institute.
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This institute is a place
where we teach people how to do
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medical missionary
work, and health education.
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As such we deal with people
who are aging quite a lot,
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sometimes we have people
who have Alzheimer's Disease.
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I suppose that part of the
body that we hate to see aging
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the most is the nervous system,
because that brings with it
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a lot of loss of function,
and for the next half an hour
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we will be talking
about aging of the mind,
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maybe you would like to join us.
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Welcome to Help
Yourself To Health
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with Dr. Agatha Thrash
of Uchee Pines Institute,
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and now here is
your host Dr. Thrash.
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Aging comes to the body at
a different rate for many of
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the organs.
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Our first organ to begin
to age is the thymus gland,
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it is located in the chest,
and even before we are born
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it is beginning to involute,
or to age, and then we age
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the other organs at
different rates, of the spleen,
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the liver, the pancreas,
muscles, bones, joints,
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and we hope that the nervous
system will be the very last
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that will age.
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We want to see
this slow progression,
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in fact the ideal would
be that we would never loose
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function even though we do age.
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Aging should not be a
time when we expect ill health,
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aging and ill health
should not be synonymous.
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we should recognize that during
the aging process we can keep
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ourselves quite healthy
by strict obedience to the
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eight natural laws of health.
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In fact one of the great
reasons to institute these laws,
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in childhood is that that
you can preserve the youthful
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functioning's of the
various parts of the body into
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advanced old age.
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As Americans we often loose our
functions one point at a time,
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we loose our teeth, we
loose our vision, we loose the
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elasticity of the skin.
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Then we loose our muscle tone,
we began to loose our bone,
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so little by little, then we
may loose a little part of the
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heart, or we may loose a little
part of the intestinal tract.
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Little by little we loose our
organs until finally we get so
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that we can't walk, we
don't sleep well, we can't eat
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a lot of things, and
we're essentially becoming aged.
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Aged because of the loss
of various functions, one step
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at a time.
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Now as we come to think
about what is memory loss,
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or the loss of the nervous
system, not all of memory loss
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is Alzheimer's Disease.
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Although we may jokingly
say when we forget something
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that my Alzheimer's
is working up today.
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We should not say that because
it may not be that we have
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special forgetfulness at all.
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In the age of 20 or 30, we
may have as much forgetfulness
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as we have at 50 or 60, or
70, but because at 60 and 70
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we think that the person should
be beginning to show signs
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of Alzheimer's, any
forgetfulness at all,
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or any lack of planning or
loss of memory of how to do
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some function, we began
to be worried, and we begin
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to think, is this Alzheimer's?
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Now if a person has a serious
loss of memory, then we should
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not just immediately label
it Alzheimer's but look for
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some other cause
which may be treatable.
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A treatable cause not recognized
may cause the person to get
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to a position where they
are really crippled with the
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mental functions, and
of course at that point
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they then have a serious
difficulty in returning to
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a place o functioning.
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Let's talk about one of the
commonest causes of the loss
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of mental functioning
and that's atherosclerosis,
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or hardening of the arteries.
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We have two carotid arteries
that are the principle sources
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of blood flow to the brain,
we also two vertebral arteries
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that go up from the back, but
having four arteries altogether
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that supply the brain, and
we can get hardening of the
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arteries in any one of
those, or in all of those.
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Or we could have a fairly
clear carotid artery system
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and the hardening of the
arteries can be inside the head
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without a lot of significant
artery hardening lower down.
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Even the very tiny blood
vessels of the brain can become
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hardened and loose their
function, loose their ability
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to carry the blood to the
brain and all of these can
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cause deterioration.
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If you have a stethoscope
in your home, or if your
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doctor listens to your carotid
arteries, the doctor may say
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to you that you have a
bruit, it is spelled bruit,
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which means a noise or
a sound made by the blood
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as it swishes past
some obstruction or partial
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obstruction in
your carotid arteries.
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You may also hear this in
the aorta, hear this bruit,
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or this noise in the aorta,
or in the iliac veins that
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go down through the
groin into the legs.
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Wherever we hear a bruit
it's always unpleasant for the
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doctor to hear because he
knows that inside that artery
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is a cushion or mound
causing and eddying of the blood
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as the blood swishes over it,
and that is a cause for concern,
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it indicates that the person
has hardening of the arteries.
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We need to recognize hardening
of the arteries because it
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can be reversed to
some degree and by changes
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in lifestyle by very
careful attention to one's food,
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one's exercise, even such
things as sunning, breathing,
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deeply of fresh air, all
of these things may help to
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reduce one's likelihood
of getting this hardening
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that causes the closure
of the blood vessels going
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up to the head.
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Then another thing is
that of trauma, repeated trauma
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to the head, such as might
come from competitive sports,
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of course whatever is done
there is usually a permanent
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loss and may not be reversible.
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But that at least would
not be Alzheimer's and we need
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to recognize that
there can be a difference.
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Then there is a theory
that partially cooked grains
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may be a real
problem for some people.
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We know that grains may
start out, let us say this
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size, relatively speaking
and as we cook them a little
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bit they become a little softer.
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The outside part of the grain
dissolves or cooks or softens
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and becomes a part of
the fluid around it, and then
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the grain becomes smaller
and smaller, and finally it's
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small enough that it
can enter a capillary,
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but not small enough that
it can go through the finest
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meshes of the capillary
meshwork and there it stops.
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So when it gets into
the blood stream through the
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intestinal tract, it
flows or travels to a certain
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distance and then
stops at that point.
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That means that the blood
flow to the tissue beyond that
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is cut off, then the
person gets a tiny micro-abscess
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a little sterile abscess there
has no germs in it but it is
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in a place where we
have lost some tissue,
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and the tissue has died
and then be replaced by a scar.
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Now interestingly enough
the radiologist tell us that
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after a person passes about
the age of 30, they have many
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tiny scars called
Lacunar Scars in the brain,
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and these are postulated
by some researchers to be
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caused by partly cooked grains.
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So we need to recognize that
this may be a thing of prudence
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for us to remember to
cook grains well, several hours
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of cooking are required
to properly cook grains that
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are used for cereal or mush.
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Such as rice or oatmeal,
or corn grits, all of these
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require several hours
of cooking before they are
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ready for a person to eat.
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Now stress is another
reason for loss of memory,
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some of you may have
had the experience of a very
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stressful day, and then
you say where are my keys,
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or where is my notebook,
or where did I leave my
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pocket PC, and you can't
remember where these things are.
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They are lost!
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You may even forget
your purse or you billfold,
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something very important
and may be just out of place
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because of stress.
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Stress can also have a
permanent effect if it is
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serious enough, then a
serious loss such as a house
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burning down, or
someone in the family dying.
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These things may be stressful
enough that it may cause
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some kind of permanent
loss of memory, at least for the
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things that
surround that period of time,
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any major loss can
be associated with that.
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Now there are some physical
stresses, metabolic stresses,
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such as come on with
over eating, overeating is a
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metabolic stress on the
body, it also is a stress
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on the central nervous
system, and it is nothing to
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joke about that we overeat.
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When we overeat, we increase
the likelihood that we may
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get Alzheimer's
disease or Parkinson's disease,
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this is a very important
thing for us to recognize.
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So as we consider these things
there are many things that
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we can do to make certain
that we do not have these
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kinds of problems that
reduce the mental functioning
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of the person.
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Now alcoholism and other
toxins illicit and licit drugs
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that we may take can
also make their toll on the
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central nervous system
and make it so that we are
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unlikely to maintain brisk
mental functioning right into
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advanced old age.
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A B-12 deficiency, especially
for tall blue eyed, fair skinned
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or freckled individuals
who have a north European
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extraction, these individuals
tend to be more susceptible
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to B-12 deficiency and it
may be correctable, at least
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early enough it is correctable
so tests should be done,
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the person should be evaluated
for that kind of problem.
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Also a Folic Acid deficiency,
for the same reasons that
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B-12 causes a problem,
and then hypercalcemia,
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that's an increase in calcium,
this can cause also deposits
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of calcium in the
central nervous system,
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and that can result in a
reduced mental functioning.
00:11:52.47\00:11:56.50
Lo thyroid is another
very correctable problem that
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a person may have and
that can easily be corrected
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and we will want to do so.
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Of course there are serious
organ failures that occur
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in people who have serious
disease of liver and kidneys
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and these can cause also a
loss of mental functioning.
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We need to be able to diagnose
some of these problems and
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to help me talk with you
about the whole problem of
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mental and emotional
problems is Don Miller who is a
00:12:32.41\00:12:36.41
health educator/health counselor
at Uchee Pines Institute
00:12:36.44\00:12:40.36
and Don Miller will now
talk with you some things about
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the diagnosis of
Alzheimer's disease, Don Miller!
00:12:43.32\00:12:46.39
Thank you Dr. Thrash!
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You know Dr. Thrash
just mentioned many things
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that can give Alzheimer's
type symptoms, but we have to
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understand that those things
alone do not give a diagnosis
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of Alzheimer's, matter of fact
it's really hard to diagnose
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Alzheimer's.
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One thing by itself
cannot be the one, let's say one
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that we always think
about is loss of memory.
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I just can't think of any more,
we all have losses of memory
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we've been forgetting things
all of our lives, and that by
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itself is not a loss of memory.
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Let's take it to
a finer tuned thing.
00:13:18.71\00:13:20.99
I am always loosing the
keys to my car, but it's when we
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forget that we have a car
that we might be a little bit
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more concerned
with a memory loss.
00:13:28.14\00:13:30.00
One way, and I think I need to
at the same time we are talking
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about some of the things
that may be a diagnosis of
00:13:35.25\00:13:38.18
Alzheimer's, I can also mention
some things along the way
00:13:38.21\00:13:41.55
that we can protect ourselves
from developing these types
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of diseases.
00:13:44.85\00:13:46.92
This is just theory on my
part, we need to keep the mind
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strong, and we realize
that one thing, that deranges
00:13:50.79\00:13:54.62
the mind, and this is a
mind derangement type of illness
00:13:54.65\00:13:58.77
is a disorderly environment.
00:13:58.80\00:14:00.90
We need to keep
our environment neat.
00:14:00.93\00:14:03.34
We miss-lay our keys
because our place is a wreck,
00:14:03.37\00:14:06.16
we don't have any system to
our lives, we need to develop
00:14:06.19\00:14:10.11
a system in our
lives where everything,
00:14:10.14\00:14:12.19
a place for everything,
and everything in it's place,
00:14:12.22\00:14:14.96
which is the
way the saying goes.
00:14:14.99\00:14:16.58
If we do these, we're
talking about not so much as one
00:14:16.61\00:14:20.28
messy corner, the trunk of
your car can't even be messy
00:14:20.31\00:14:24.28
and as we keep everything
arranged, our mind will keep
00:14:24.31\00:14:28.03
from becoming deranged.
00:14:28.06\00:14:30.51
The second one of the diagnosing
steps might be, a difficulty
00:14:30.54\00:14:36.31
in performing familiar tasks,
things like tying your shoes,
00:14:36.34\00:14:40.63
or winding your watch,
or turning on the stove.
00:14:40.66\00:14:43.68
I remember a few years
ago being in someone's home
00:14:43.71\00:14:45.71
where the person in the
home had gone in to make himself
00:14:45.74\00:14:51.08
a sandwich, but he
forgot how to make a sandwich.
00:14:51.11\00:14:53.36
Now it wasn't Alzheimer's
in this case, he had just had
00:14:53.39\00:14:56.74
a TIA, and his mind wasn't
working well, so we cannot
00:14:56.77\00:15:00.16
misdiagnose by calling
on a lot of other things
00:15:00.19\00:15:03.65
that might be causing
this particular problem.
00:15:03.68\00:15:06.44
Another one of the warning
signs, or diagnostic signs
00:15:06.47\00:15:10.35
of Alzheimer's is a
language difficulty,
00:15:10.38\00:15:14.29
I just can't think
of that word any more.
00:15:14.32\00:15:17.45
It's no problem not being
able to think of that word,
00:15:17.48\00:15:20.06
but when we are constantly
not being able to bring up
00:15:20.09\00:15:23.00
that word that we need, a
familiar word, that might be
00:15:23.03\00:15:26.00
a little bit of a diagnostic
clue, that we might be heading
00:15:26.03\00:15:29.12
down Alzheimer's highway,
so look for the person who just
00:15:29.15\00:15:33.63
is always grasping for words.
00:15:33.66\00:15:35.72
Disorientation as
regards to time and place.
00:15:35.75\00:15:40.18
Now I travel a lot, and I
travel internationally a lot
00:15:40.21\00:15:44.96
and I go through lots of time
zones, I remember the last time
00:15:44.99\00:15:49.74
I traveled, I
came back from Africa,
00:15:49.77\00:15:52.47
it was the
longest day of my life.
00:15:52.51\00:15:55.18
It happened to be my birthday,
I left 15 minutes before
00:15:55.21\00:15:57.84
my birthday, got home about
five hours before my birthday
00:15:57.87\00:16:01.88
ended, and that was
the longest day of my life.
00:16:01.91\00:16:04.06
I remember going to bed
that night, waking up in the
00:16:04.09\00:16:06.17
middle of the
night, laying there in bed,
00:16:06.20\00:16:07.47
I had no idea where I was,
when it was, or even who I was,
00:16:07.50\00:16:11.73
that was because of a
disorientation as to time
00:16:11.76\00:16:15.76
and place because
of an upset schedule.
00:16:15.79\00:16:18.93
So, what do we do with
somebody who might be going down
00:16:18.96\00:16:21.72
Alzheimer's highway,
they've got to become regular
00:16:21.75\00:16:24.99
in their schedules,
everything on their right time,
00:16:25.02\00:16:28.45
everything on schedules.
00:16:28.48\00:16:30.20
If someone seems to
be going down that slope,
00:16:30.23\00:16:32.24
correct the damage right
now, you might be able to slow
00:16:32.27\00:16:36.08
it down if not stop it.
00:16:36.12\00:16:38.33
People who show poor
or decreased judgment,
00:16:38.36\00:16:42.86
now most of us show
poor and decreased judgment
00:16:42.89\00:16:46.01
all the time, but someone
who has been consistently
00:16:46.04\00:16:48.85
of a good judgment all of
a sudden starts making poor
00:16:48.88\00:16:52.86
judgment choices,
that's one of the diagnostic
00:16:52.89\00:16:55.61
tools of Alzheimer's.
00:16:55.64\00:16:57.45
Problems with abstract thinking,
another one of the diagnostic
00:16:57.61\00:17:03.83
tools of Alzheimer's.
00:17:03.86\00:17:05.48
Misplacing things, and again
that goes along with the memory,
00:17:05.51\00:17:09.28
I sort of put these two
together, but we are always
00:17:09.31\00:17:12.16
miss-laying
things, we can't find...
00:17:12.19\00:17:14.16
I remember one time I
spent a half an hour looking for
00:17:14.19\00:17:17.48
my glasses and I finally
found them they were hanging
00:17:17.51\00:17:19.63
on my nose.
00:17:19.66\00:17:20.64
Now I don't have Alzheimer's,
I just was really flustered
00:17:20.67\00:17:23.64
that day and I don't understand
why I couldn't see them,
00:17:23.67\00:17:25.63
as soon as I looked in
the mirror I saw my glasses
00:17:25.66\00:17:28.31
where they were supposed
to be, hanging off my nose.
00:17:28.34\00:17:30.43
Those people who are always
misplacing things could be
00:17:30.46\00:17:34.44
a diagnostic tool.
00:17:34.47\00:17:35.79
Changes in mood and behavior.
00:17:35.82\00:17:38.53
Now I need to mention as I
talk about mood and behavior
00:17:38.56\00:17:41.60
the fact that sometimes
we can keep who we really are
00:17:41.63\00:17:46.49
under wraps, and who we
really are when we start
00:17:46.52\00:17:51.56
getting into areas of
Alzheimer's or dementia,
00:17:51.59\00:17:54.53
or just senility which is
probably what we can group
00:17:54.56\00:17:57.95
them all as in some
form, the real you comes out.
00:17:57.98\00:18:02.12
I remember my great-grandmother
1969, she was lying in bed
00:18:02.15\00:18:07.79
at home, she was
in her upper 90's.
00:18:07.82\00:18:09.93
She was the most beautiful
woman in life, and there she was
00:18:09.96\00:18:13.81
laying in her bed, and I
went in to see her, and she said
00:18:13.84\00:18:17.36
oh Donny, get my purse,
I've got a million dollars
00:18:17.39\00:18:21.53
in there for you.
00:18:21.56\00:18:22.53
That was my grandmother,
that's the way she was,
00:18:22.54\00:18:25.28
she never had anything to give
me really, except for her love.
00:18:25.31\00:18:28.49
But she wanted to give
me everything that she had,
00:18:28.52\00:18:31.35
and that's who she was,
and as we get into these areas
00:18:31.38\00:18:34.92
where we start to loose
that mental control over
00:18:34.95\00:18:38.10
who we are, we
become who we really are.
00:18:38.13\00:18:40.58
I like that saying, you may
not be who you think you are,
00:18:40.61\00:18:43.25
but what you think, you are.
00:18:43.28\00:18:45.77
So allow the Lord to change
that character now, so that
00:18:45.80\00:18:49.25
when the day comes, and
it may come for some of us,
00:18:49.28\00:18:51.86
that we start loosing
that physical control,
00:18:51.89\00:18:54.42
that mental control over
who we are, what we then are
00:18:54.45\00:18:58.24
is a pretty nice person still.
00:18:58.27\00:19:00.16
I remember walking
though a nursing home years ago
00:19:00.19\00:19:03.20
in Oklahoma where I was
going to graduate school
00:19:03.23\00:19:07.83
and the lady... she used
to invite me home for lunch
00:19:07.86\00:19:11.12
every day, now this
lady was 89 years old.
00:19:11.15\00:19:13.29
Every Sabbath she
invited me home for lunch,
00:19:13.32\00:19:15.30
and she would
spread the table...
00:19:15.33\00:19:17.04
I've always been
thin, they are always trying
00:19:17.07\00:19:18.36
to fatten me up,
it's great to be thin,
00:19:18.39\00:19:20.09
and we would walk in
there feed me all this food,
00:19:20.12\00:19:22.65
then we would go to
the nursing home where she
00:19:22.68\00:19:24.33
took care of people.
00:19:24.36\00:19:25.82
I remember walking down
the highway and there was this
00:19:25.85\00:19:28.67
lady over there in one of
these rooms, rocking in her
00:19:28.70\00:19:31.60
rocking chair, with one
steady stream of profanity
00:19:31.63\00:19:35.24
coming out of her mouth.
00:19:35.27\00:19:36.45
It was frightening, maybe
that's who she really was,
00:19:36.48\00:19:39.53
I don't know but one of
these personality and judgment
00:19:39.56\00:19:43.21
things when they start to
change, it could be one of
00:19:43.24\00:19:45.28
the signs of Alzheimer's.
00:19:45.31\00:19:48.68
Changes in personality,
and loss of imitative,
00:19:48.71\00:19:52.88
you just no longer
want to do anything.
00:19:52.91\00:19:55.43
A person who used to
love just to play the piano,
00:19:55.46\00:19:59.45
they no longer have an interest
in playing the piano any more,
00:19:59.48\00:20:02.62
all of these things are
diagnostic clues that you
00:20:02.65\00:20:07.12
might be going down
Alzheimer's highway.
00:20:07.15\00:20:09.56
Going back to this
recognition and memory thing,
00:20:09.59\00:20:12.37
it's when we can see
the person, or see the thing
00:20:12.40\00:20:16.39
and we still can't remember
who it is or what it is,
00:20:16.42\00:20:19.56
whether we can see it or hear
it, or feel it, or whatever,
00:20:19.59\00:20:23.16
if we can't do that, one
of the diagnostic signs that
00:20:23.19\00:20:27.06
we might be going
down Alzheimer's highway.
00:20:27.09\00:20:29.39
There are things that we
can do to maybe slow it down
00:20:29.42\00:20:32.14
but whatever the case
is, we need to be aware
00:20:32.17\00:20:35.71
that it is happening
because we've got to be ready
00:20:35.74\00:20:37.53
for it too, if we are not
getting it, if our loved one is
00:20:37.56\00:20:40.03
I'll talk about
that in a few minutes.
00:20:40.06\00:20:41.57
Dr. Thrash!
00:20:41.60\00:20:43.01
Alzheimer's by any means is
not funny although sometimes
00:20:43.04\00:20:46.43
we loose our keys and
we make a joke about it,
00:20:46.46\00:20:49.28
but Alzheimer's has a great
impact on us and we need to
00:20:49.31\00:20:54.39
recognize the
seriousness of this diagnosis.
00:20:54.42\00:20:59.68
There are certain things
that happen to us in the brain
00:20:59.71\00:21:04.38
that are diagnostic of
Alzheimer's, unfortunately
00:21:04.41\00:21:08.17
we have to have a sample of
the brain itself in order to
00:21:08.20\00:21:11.43
make that diagnosis, and not
very many people are going to
00:21:11.46\00:21:15.73
let you have that kind
of sample to examine under
00:21:15.76\00:21:20.77
the microscope, but I
would like to show you on
00:21:20.80\00:21:22.74
the white board here
just what kind of thing we are
00:21:22.77\00:21:25.77
dealing with in the
brain when we are talking about
00:21:25.80\00:21:29.31
Alzheimer's disease.
00:21:29.34\00:21:30.62
Let us say that we have
here a nerve cell, here it is,
00:21:30.65\00:21:36.17
looks somewhat like this,
and I'm going to draw it as if
00:21:36.20\00:21:39.44
it were on it's side so
that I can make this extension
00:21:39.47\00:21:42.12
out here like that.
00:21:42.15\00:21:43.95
This is the axon, this is
the cell body, and over here
00:21:43.98\00:21:48.30
we have some more processes
which we call dendrites.
00:21:48.33\00:21:53.38
Now when the person is getting
Alzheimer's disease, one of the
00:21:53.41\00:21:57.63
first things that happens
is that, or one thing that
00:21:57.66\00:22:00.91
may happen is that they
get Amyloid plaques that form
00:22:00.94\00:22:04.61
on the nerve cells somewhere.
00:22:04.64\00:22:08.01
It can be on the axon, it
can be on the processes, or it
00:22:08.04\00:22:11.42
can be on the cell body.
00:22:11.45\00:22:13.02
These Amyloid plaques are
of unknown source, we don't
00:22:13.05\00:22:19.49
really know where they
come from, nor what makes them.
00:22:19.52\00:22:22.80
Although I have a
theory, I think it may be from
00:22:22.83\00:22:25.80
our overeating or it may
be from something that we do
00:22:25.83\00:22:30.11
that breaks one of
the eight laws of health.
00:22:30.14\00:22:32.52
Another good reason to be
careful about all of those,
00:22:32.55\00:22:36.14
but at any rate, at the
present time we do not know
00:22:36.17\00:22:39.15
where these
Amyloid plaques come from.
00:22:39.18\00:22:41.08
Another thing is a
tangle of these processes,
00:22:41.11\00:22:45.82
these are called
neurofibrillary tangles
00:22:45.85\00:22:48.93
and they can occur right
up on the cell body or out
00:22:48.96\00:22:51.97
in the processes
out here like this.
00:22:52.00\00:22:55.00
And then of course another
thing that can happen is that
00:22:55.03\00:22:58.34
we can loose the entire cell,
it just drops out and dies,
00:22:58.37\00:23:03.59
and this is a thing that
we can understand as being
00:23:03.62\00:23:08.34
what Alzheimer's disease is.
00:23:08.37\00:23:11.15
It's a number of things
that make it so that we are
00:23:11.18\00:23:15.12
unlikely to be able to transmit
nerve impulses which we call
00:23:15.15\00:23:20.49
memory.
00:23:20.52\00:23:22.93
These changes usually
occur in a portion of the brain
00:23:22.96\00:23:27.59
which might be thought of
as being between the temples
00:23:27.62\00:23:33.38
and between the eyebrows
where those two lines intersect
00:23:33.41\00:23:38.90
would be about where
the hippocampus would be,
00:23:38.93\00:23:42.02
that's about the level, but
it is on one side or the other.
00:23:42.05\00:23:45.83
Now some other things that we
can tell you about Alzheimer's
00:23:45.86\00:23:51.40
that make a very serious
problem is the impact that
00:23:51.43\00:23:55.30
Alzheimer's
disease has on others.
00:23:55.33\00:23:58.06
I think that is one of the most
serious things that we have,
00:23:58.09\00:24:00.97
and Don Miller is going to
talk with you a bit about that.
00:24:01.00\00:24:03.97
You may be that
other one of these days!
00:24:04.00\00:24:06.79
How do you deal with your
loved one becoming a victim
00:24:06.82\00:24:11.31
of Alzheimer's?
00:24:11.34\00:24:12.82
First of all we have to
not get flustered in the face
00:24:12.85\00:24:17.54
of that loved one because they
to, where as they may seem like
00:24:17.57\00:24:21.78
they don't remember anything,
they to are struggling with it
00:24:21.81\00:24:24.72
somewhere in that lost
confused mind, so we have to do
00:24:24.75\00:24:27.97
a number of
things for this person.
00:24:28.00\00:24:29.45
You have to realize that
that person is going to go from
00:24:29.48\00:24:32.28
total independence,
to total dependence.
00:24:32.31\00:24:35.50
They will go from the place
where they can take their bath
00:24:35.53\00:24:38.67
by themselves, to the place
where you've got to remind them
00:24:38.70\00:24:41.11
to take their bath, to
the place where you have to
00:24:41.14\00:24:43.79
help them take the bath.
00:24:43.82\00:24:45.00
And the time is going to
come when they don't want to
00:24:45.03\00:24:47.03
take the bath, and you
can't force them at that point,
00:24:47.06\00:24:50.06
You've got to slowly
bring them into that experience,
00:24:50.09\00:24:52.54
you've got to talk gently to
them, they've got to be talked
00:24:52.57\00:24:55.54
gently to.
00:24:55.57\00:24:56.54
I've heard people with
loved ones who may not have had
00:24:56.55\00:25:00.30
Alzheimer's but some type of
dementia, some type of senility
00:25:00.33\00:25:04.24
and the person would ask
the same question over...
00:25:04.27\00:25:07.45
Where are we going?
00:25:07.48\00:25:08.50
We're going to
town! Where are we going?
00:25:08.53\00:25:11.41
We are going to town!
00:25:11.44\00:25:12.66
Where are we going?
00:25:12.69\00:25:14.52
And that would happen 20,
30 times, I would always marvel
00:25:14.55\00:25:18.01
that the person could sit there
and answer that same question
00:25:18.04\00:25:21.57
the same kind way, exactly the
same answer, every single time.
00:25:21.60\00:25:26.62
We have to become like
that, that's the way Jesus
00:25:26.65\00:25:29.19
would like us to be
in those situations.
00:25:29.22\00:25:31.73
We have to make sure we
insure adequate time for all the
00:25:31.76\00:25:35.89
tasks that have to be preformed,
if we have to go over here for
00:25:35.92\00:25:38.87
a purpose, or over
there for a purpose,
00:25:38.90\00:25:40.52
don't think you are going to
do it like you did it last week
00:25:40.55\00:25:42.91
or last year, it's going
to take a little bit longer
00:25:42.94\00:25:44.96
to get there, a little bit
longer to get out to the car,
00:25:44.99\00:25:46.75
because the person's going
to be a little bit more afraid
00:25:46.78\00:25:49.20
of falling perhaps.
00:25:49.23\00:25:50.35
You've got to install
some grab bars and some
00:25:50.38\00:25:52.83
protective things in the
home for the person who is going
00:25:52.86\00:25:56.60
down Alzheimer's highway.
00:25:56.63\00:25:58.55
You've got to prepare for any
task that you are going to be
00:25:58.58\00:26:01.61
taking that person to, if you
are going to give them a bath
00:26:01.64\00:26:03.72
have everything ready before
you put them in that bath.
00:26:03.75\00:26:06.88
You can't put them in that
bath and then go off looking for
00:26:06.91\00:26:09.50
the towel or the soap, or
the scrub brush, everything
00:26:09.53\00:26:13.09
has to be there, they
can not be left alone,
00:26:13.12\00:26:15.07
especially in situations where
it could become rather dangerous
00:26:15.10\00:26:18.78
for them.
00:26:18.81\00:26:19.78
And please protect their
privacy, understand they need
00:26:19.79\00:26:23.59
that time of privacy,
even though they may seem
00:26:23.62\00:26:26.04
like they don't know
what's going on around them,
00:26:26.07\00:26:28.09
you have to give them that
private moment, protect them,
00:26:28.12\00:26:31.57
don't make fun of them.
00:26:31.60\00:26:32.92
I've seen people make fun
of people who are becoming
00:26:32.95\00:26:35.04
senile, it's not the
time, it's not the place for it.
00:26:35.07\00:26:38.78
These people are to be loved
as they loved you when they
00:26:38.81\00:26:41.38
had their full minds.
00:26:41.41\00:26:42.56
Take good care of
these people and it will be
00:26:42.59\00:26:46.30
a whole lot better, and
then you have to as I've already
00:26:46.33\00:26:49.39
mentioned, make sure you
have a regular, rigidly regular
00:26:49.42\00:26:52.84
schedule for that person, and
tell them even while they are
00:26:52.87\00:26:57.13
getting into that experience,
that they have to always put
00:26:57.16\00:27:01.22
your keys here, and your water
is always going to be here.
00:27:01.25\00:27:04.06
Set up a routine, so that
they will get into a routine
00:27:04.09\00:27:06.78
and it might be a
little bit better Dr. Thrash,
00:27:06.81\00:27:08.79
as they go down that highway.
00:27:08.82\00:27:10.27
Yes! We look at
the aged with respect
00:27:10.30\00:27:15.33
and yet we must treat
them often as children,
00:27:15.36\00:27:19.19
which is a very difficult
balance for people to take.
00:27:19.22\00:27:22.62
Those who take care of
them have to balance between
00:27:22.65\00:27:25.67
the respect and the love that
they've always had for them,
00:27:25.70\00:27:29.66
the privacy that we
know that they must have,
00:27:29.69\00:27:32.88
and also the care that we must
take over them as if they were
00:27:32.91\00:27:37.58
actually children.
00:27:37.61\00:27:38.93
They may not look at
themselves as being helpless,
00:27:38.96\00:27:41.81
but they often are helpless,
they often need everything
00:27:41.84\00:27:45.97
done for them.
00:27:46.00\00:27:46.97
They may even need you to
answer questions for them,
00:27:46.98\00:27:50.06
and so as God gives you the
grace, deal with these people
00:27:50.09\00:27:53.62
with respect.
00:27:53.65\00:27:55.41