A Bit of Good News

It's been a year since we got the diagnosis of Alzheimer's, 11 months since Parkinson's was added to the mix and 16 months since the prostrate surgery to fix the constant urinary tract infections.  What an up and down ride but this past week, we were encouraged at his neuropsychologist appointment.  This is the doctor who diagnosed the Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.  Several months ago he prescribed some new meds and suggested physical therapy.  It seems that these in combination have contributed to Andy feeling better than he's felt in a very long time.

He has been faithfully doing his exercises every day and sometimes twice a day.  Exercise is good for oxygenating the blood and contributing to overall health, including brain health.  As we walked back to the doctor's office, Andy and the doctor walked together down the hallway.  The doctor looked over at Andy as he was walking and said, "Wow!"  Then as we sat in the office with him and we told him how Andy was feeling, he actually smiled!  That was significant to us.  How often have we sat in doctor's offices and heard bad news?!  But not this time.  Andy asked the doctor what we could expect.  The doc said everyone is different and the disease progresses at different rates for different people.  But he might stay at this level for a long time.  He is on a pretty low dosage of the meds so there is room for increasing them in the future if it's needed.

Andy has been not only doing his exercises specifically designed for Parkinson's patients, he is also riding his bike again.  The nice weather has been helpful and he rides back and forth from the church to home, sometimes several times a day.  

Oh, it's good to feel good!  Of course, riding to church and back is not nearly up to his 50-60 miles at a stretch like he did several years ago.  I made him promise he wouldn't ride that far - mainly because 1)  he might get lost and not know how to get home; and 2) he might have an accident and be stuck out there on his own.  

Here he is on one of his rides to the shore several years ago!

Biking is in his blood - he loves to bike.  I remember him telling me once that when he was a kid, he saved his money for a very long time so that he could buy a bike.  And now with a sore knee, sore ankle, sore feet and sore toes, biking is about the only exercise he can still do.

clowning around

Serious biking!

In our journey, sometimes people read articles or hear of a new supposed cure for Alzheimer's.  We've had all kinds of advice from coconut oil to you name it.  While I appreciate all these well meant suggestions and ideas, the bottom line on everything I've read is that "there is no known cure."  But this week, we got the best possible cure of all sent to us by one of our dear daughters.  

 Andy now has an excuse to drink beer!  All 5,636 bottles!  After all, this may boost brain power.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/09/30/beer-flavonoid-may-boost-brain-power/

Who thinks up these things?