I've heard 50% of people who live to 85 get it. My grandfather had it (and Parkinson's - jackpot!) before passing away at the age of 81. He lived with us for a couple of years while he had it and it was crushing. He died the week I was having finals my first semester of college (which was also when 9/11 happened so talk about a sh*tty first semester).
My memories of him(thankfully) are largely of him before he had the disease. I used to love visiting him as a kid. Grandpa AJ!!! It was a fun place to go and my dad really loved going there. I actually didn't know that his wife was not my dad's mom until I was quite a bit older. Like 8-sh. (My real grandma died of breast cancer when my dad was 23... I can not imagine having that happen to me. I've heard she would've spoiled me rotten. I think I would've grown up more refined if I had known her.)
He moved in with us after his wife didn't want to be married to a man with Alzheimer's. Stay classy, Suzanne... I don't remember much but the stuff I do remember from that time was the reason I was allowed to get a lock on my door at age 11 or 12 is because one night he came into my room at like 3a when I was sleeping and started putting on my clothing. He was completely disoriented. I remember when we were walking at a park as a family and he started running - like he forgot HOW to stop - until he fell and broke his arm. I see a lot of myself in him - he loved to travel and take pictures. And one of my favorite memories of him is something I wasn't alive for. He was a mechanic on planes in World War II and I've heard he flew with USO celebrities. Kinda neat.
We didn't talk about him much after he moved out but he lived in a really nice nursing home one town over hen it got to the point where he needed far more attention than my parents could give him. My dad visited every weekend. One of the sadder things I remember is when he started calling my dad, "Eddie". My dad's name is Chris. My grandfather's brother (who died, I dunno, 50 years prior)'s name was Eddie. Regressing. I could see how much it hurt my dad to know that his dad did not know who he was. And being a child, I acted childish.I stopped visiting my grandpa. It made me too sad to see how much it hurt my dad. And, yes, it was sad to see him in this state. I now wish I hadn't stopped. It wasn't about me or me feeling sad. It's about supporting those you love (mostly my dad). He had long since forgotten me and that didn't really bother me. But I was really sad for my dad.
What is my point? Weight gain after you're 40 has been linked to Alzheimer's. I know we don't know exactly what causes it but this could be one thing. My grandpa was never overweight and was extremely active so it could've been the hatchet that got barrier in his head by accident when he was a child... we'll never know. But since I do have a family history and since I AM overweight, it is something to think about. Just another reason to try to get fit. Another reason to try.
I want to live a long, healthy life without dementia or cancers.
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