Hello,
Been reading some of the threads on TP for a few weeks now since the consultant told us that he is pretty sure that my Dad has early onset AD (he is 59) and I've just had a phone call from my step mother with the results of his brain scan. She says that the brain has shrunk that much that the consultant was actually shocked when he looked at the scan and says that my Dad's brain is what he would of expected of an 84 year old? The consultant is also very concerned at my dad's rapid decline over the last 6 months.
We first noticed that there was something wrong when we visited at Christmas, Dad wasn't taking part in conversations like he used to and quite honestly we thought he was going deaf and slowing down a bit (he took early retirement last year). On the phone, when my step mother passes the phone over, his only reply to everything is 'Okay, right' and even that is after a ten second pause. When I visited a month ago, he was struggling to give one word answers and even then you weren't entirely sure if he really meant No (or Yes). He will watch a TV programme then flick the channels over and then end up watching the exact same programme again on its +1 channel and not even realise. My step mother keeps telling me that he is still there and loves me dearly (and not to worry) but I can't see anything there? There is a shell of someone who looks very much like my Dad but that person is a total stranger, I can't see any sign that he is still in there? I feel terribly guilty about that and I don't know what to do? I'm seem to be making excuses up to avoid visiting them because I can't stand seeing him like this but I feel so guilty for not going at the same time.
I don't know what I am really asking here. I think I just need to chat to someone as it is all going round and round in my head endlessly at the moment.
Been reading some of the threads on TP for a few weeks now since the consultant told us that he is pretty sure that my Dad has early onset AD (he is 59) and I've just had a phone call from my step mother with the results of his brain scan. She says that the brain has shrunk that much that the consultant was actually shocked when he looked at the scan and says that my Dad's brain is what he would of expected of an 84 year old? The consultant is also very concerned at my dad's rapid decline over the last 6 months.
We first noticed that there was something wrong when we visited at Christmas, Dad wasn't taking part in conversations like he used to and quite honestly we thought he was going deaf and slowing down a bit (he took early retirement last year). On the phone, when my step mother passes the phone over, his only reply to everything is 'Okay, right' and even that is after a ten second pause. When I visited a month ago, he was struggling to give one word answers and even then you weren't entirely sure if he really meant No (or Yes). He will watch a TV programme then flick the channels over and then end up watching the exact same programme again on its +1 channel and not even realise. My step mother keeps telling me that he is still there and loves me dearly (and not to worry) but I can't see anything there? There is a shell of someone who looks very much like my Dad but that person is a total stranger, I can't see any sign that he is still in there? I feel terribly guilty about that and I don't know what to do? I'm seem to be making excuses up to avoid visiting them because I can't stand seeing him like this but I feel so guilty for not going at the same time.
I don't know what I am really asking here. I think I just need to chat to someone as it is all going round and round in my head endlessly at the moment.