Ted Talk Video
Shaikh, A. (2012, June). How I'm preparing to get Alzheimer's. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/alanna_shaikh_how_i_m_preparing_to_get_alzheimer_s?referrer=playlist-the_fight_against_alzheimer_s#t-355912
I watched a Ted Talk video given by Alanna Shaikh on how she is preparing to get Alzheimer's disease. Because she is currently living with her father fighting this disease, she has personal insight along with knowledge of it and the effects it has on the people who are diagnosed with it and the people who care for them.
I chose this Ted Talk because my great-grandmother has Alzheimer's disease and I have seen wha tit has done to her over the years. It is scary how much this disease can really take from you and this video grabbed my attention because Alzheimer's does run in families. I loved the idea of a powerful and positive approach to the fact that Alzheimer's is a big possibility for her, as it is me.
In this video, Alanna goes on to talk about the statistics of how prevalent Alzheimer's is and what the number is expected to be by 2030 (70 million). She talks about how she has watched her dad essentially disappear over a decade. While most people automatically associate Alzheimer's disease with the cognitive deficits that develop, there are also physical deficits that also create more difficulty for these people. Physically they lose balance and because of falls, they begin to live a more sedentary lifestyle out of fear. The people who most often had pretty active lifestyles before begin to fear being active because they are scared to fall. This, along with the well known cognitive issues, leave people basically in a shell of a man. Alanna knows that she is at a greater risk because of the family history, but instead of being in denial or trying to do everything under the sun to prevent the disease from coming, she made a list of things to help her prepare for when and if she is diagnosed. She is already doing the things the doctors all recommend, being physical active everyday and eating healthy. However, she extended upon that to make sure that she was as prepared as she could be. She is changing her hobbies, improving her physical strength, and working on being a better person.
Hobbies. It can be anything from reading, relaxing with tv, or being out working in a garden or cooking. When Alzheimer's begins, a lot of those abilities are lost. So, she is working on hobbies that she would still be able to do if she were to be diagnosed. Because the more things her hands are used to doing now, it will be easier for her to do them and enjoy them when her brain is no longer working normally. She has started incorporating exercise that improves her balance like tai chi and yoga. That way, when she starts to lose her balance she will still be able to be mobile. Lastly, she is working on being a better person. She said her father was always kind and loving, and she was never as loving as him. Because her dad has always been so kind and pure, it makes it easier to be around him now when it seems that he isn't the same Dad. She wants a heart so loving a pure, that once it is stripped by dementia and Alzheimer's her heart will shine through like her father's.
She mentions that the monster is going to get you if it wants you. It doesn't matter how great of a person or how smart you are. If Alzheimer's wants to get you, then it will. Her father was bilingual and a college professor, and it still got him. She wants to be prepared to face the monster head on if it comes to that. She wants to be prepared.
The way Alanna Shaikh looks at life is so important. We have learned so often that a person's outlook and determination is a big part of dealing with a neurological disorder like this. She is already getting ready; she is facing it with a smile on her face and a card in her back pocket because she doesn't want it to destroy her like her father. I think that is a great way to look at it. There is no denial that it won't effect her. She knows the possibility. She knows that statistics. She is ready.
