“How do people actually die from Alzheimer?”
In: Biology
Here’s an interesting/sad story- My grandfather was always a drinker, and became an alcoholic after he lost my grandmother when he was around 70. He smoked at least a pack a day his entire life- like, starting as a young teenager. He used more swear words than not and was just lost in life. We were starting to notice some dementia symptoms that we assumed were accelerated due to the alcohol abuse.
Well, unfortunately he decided to go driving after drinking one day. He was upset we were trying to take away his truck and license- he was probably 80 yrs old at this point. Well, he put his truck in a ditch and got a traumatic brain injury. (Thankfully no one else was involved)
That took his dementia into full blown Alzheimer’s in just a couple months. The family moved him in with my aunt as a caretaker.
He forgot that he drank. He forgot he smoked. He forgot how to swear. He forgot that he wanted to drive. He became this sweet old man, who loved my aunt’s kiddos and became a great but forgetful grandpa. Every doctor who came out said he- this alcoholic chain smoker- was as healthy as a horse other than his brain. Eventually, like many with degenerative brain diseases, he forgot how to eat and swallow. But lungs and liver worked great until the end!
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