Chatting with a friend who non-sequiturially (I know, probably a made up word. Report me to the grammar police) announced “ my eyes hurt, I’ve gained ten pounds, my chronic migraines have returned with a vengeance and I am this far away (she holds up her thumb and forefinger less than an inch apart) from …
Continue reading Can I Still Read?Old age or…something else?
I've been a professional fundraiser, a mother (sometimes married, sometimes not), a would-be novelist, a knitter, avid reader, pretty good cook, and, if we go back far enough, musical comedy star (summer camp version. Did you know “There’s No Business Like show Business?”) Get ready to answer the call as I attempt to stride boldly …
I’ve just returned from my 50th college reunion and my emotions are all over the place. I was a fairly indifferent student at a selective school. That is, it was selective if you were a guy. As a woman breaking the gender barrier, not so much. I entered as a junior transfer student and why …
I’ve just returned from my 50th college reunion and my emotions are all over the place. I was a fairly indifferent student at a selective school. That is, it was selective if you were a guy. As a woman breaking the gender barrier, not so much. I entered as a junior transfer student and why …
And I do not, repeat do NOT show signs of dementia. I’m just old. Most of us are at the age where our annual physical includes a quick-and-dirty mental acuity test. Draw a clock showing 11:15. Remember these three words: teacher, television, bandage. Of course now you must think of nothing but those three words …
Continue reading The jury (psychiatrist conducting dementia screening) has spoken.
Fasten your seat belts! It’s going to be a bumpy night! Unlike most of my friends, I’ve never been terribly fearful about dementia. My father lived to be 96 and was coherent till the end. Ditto my mother at ninety. Alzheimer's had a serious hereditary component, didn't it? Seems to me there are three sources …
First thing to go was the area rugs. Wha??? You mean those beautiful 4x6 floor adornments that I schlepped from Marrakech all the way home with a stop in Lisbon, storing them overnight at the airport so I wouldn’t have to pay a duty on what the Portuguese authorities thought I would be doing: selling …
Is tidydame a word? It should be. Are you listening, all you Marie Kondo acolytes? Petition the Oxford English Dictionary so I can maintain my genius status. For the uninitiated, I’m talking about Spelling Bee, the daily New York Times brain teaser, which for me serves the vital function of mental status barometer. If I …
In January, 2022, I bade adieu to my colleagues and, after 40+ years raising funds for a host of non-profit organizations, I walked out the door. Was I worried about how I'd fill my days without a schedule or meetings or people to gossip with? Not I. I was the poster child for a fulfilling …
SEND ME YOUR STORIES OF WEIRD SYMPTOMS - ALL DISEASES WELCOME. I’ll go first. I recently read an article on hallucinations in Parkinson’s patients, prompting me to revisit that strange and unanticipated phenomenon, which I discussed in my very first blogpost, titled Creepy-crawlies Under My Skin and published on April 23, 2022. Here’s what I …
Continue reading Fun with hallucinations and other weird Parkinson’s symptoms
