Hello. My name is Mark Aloway and I am 67 years old. I am retired from the US Air Force and the Veterans Administration. I am also a disabled Veteran. Last year I was diagnosed with Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment. It is the very early stage of dementia. More of that diagnosis later.
My experience with dementia and Alzheimer’s goes back 17 years. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in 2004. Soon thereafter I went to the local Alzheimer’s Association Chapter in Little Rock, Arkansas to find out all the information I could about the disease. I was retired at the time and I had all the time needed to do my research. I felt that the more I learned I could be of a better resource for my family and friends in helping Mom.
Mom has been in a facility for several years. She is slowly going down. It is sad to see her slow decline. She has started to get very angry about everything. We go and see her every week. Sometimes twice or more a week depending on her needs. My sister Vicky is the primary caregiver and I am second. When Vicky is out of pocket or out of town I will step up for her care.
My history with the Alzheimer’s Association is very diverse. I have worked with the Association as an employee, community educator, support group facilitator, support group mentor and lately I have been on the Board of Directors. I am fully dedicated to all functions of the Association. I have been a Team Captain for the Walk to End Alzheimer’s. I has been very rewarding to help out in any way I can. If you or your organization would like to participate in the Walk in your area, go to www.alz.org and find the walk in your area and sign up. You will not be disappointed.
Almost two years ago my wife Edie started noticing a few changes in me. It was my behavior, speech, and other daily routines that seemed to be off. She has been with me in all of our Alzheimer’s endeavors. So she was very aware of the signs of Dementia. She is the one that suggested that I may need to see someone about my changes. I talked with my PCP to get an appointment with a Neurophysiologist to do some testing. I finally got an appointment with the doctor for the tests. Four and a half hours later all the test were over. I was told that it would be a few weeks to get an appointment to discuss the results. Then COVID hit. Appointment was cancelled. No more face-to-face appointments. I had to have a virtual appointment. I finally got that appointment for a call. My wife was with me as we used the phone with the speaker phone set up. The doctor was very good at explaining all the results. It is not what I and my wife was expecting. It also showed what I did not want to here. Vascular Mild Cognitive Impairment was the diagnosis.
It hit me like a ton of bricks. It could not be right. I have been doing all the correct things for my mind and body. We ate the right foods. We worked out at the gym and took long walks together. As I said before, I had been using my abilities to each groups around the state on Alzheimer’s and Dementia. It could not be the correct diagnosis. I was devastated. I really wanted to cry. Why me.
Since my diagnosis, it has been a real challenge. Edie and I have been very careful about everything that we do. I noticed that I was not able to concentrate on things. I would forget to take my medicines. I have several other disabilities that require me to take my meds three times a day. Unfortunately, I have to take a total of 27 pills a day. It may be some of the problems that has caused me to be diagnosed with VMCI. I have has 3 maybe four TIAs (mini-strokes), several concussions with one I was out for a few minutes. Many of these could have contributed to my diagnosis.
We have been seeing a therapist weekly to work on my cognitive skills. I find it very useful to talk about my issues. I am not ashamed of the diagnosis. Why should I? It is like any other disease. I t was not caused by me. Are people with cancer ashamed, NO. Are people with can heart disease ashamed, No. This is a disease that may or may not have been genetic. Since my mother has Alzheimer’s, I had a higher possibility of getting the disease. The percentage of getting the disease if you mother has it than if your father had it.
This blog will be for me to talk about my day-to-day situations, feelings, and decline. I will not be writing every day, but will highlight problems and issues as the disease progress.
I you have any questions, please email me at artyhog1@outlook.com or send me comments through this blog. If you want me to elaborate on anything, just let me know.
My Journey with Dementia 