The Bunny Bacchus

He's about 62 or therabouts, so its getting to the point where we need to be keeping an eye out for our folks a bit more. That being said, his own dad was eighty when he passed on and was as solid as a rock, physically and mentally and as I said, no history of anything like this on that side. Plus he's *always* had trouble getting our names right, whenever he goes to mention me or my brother/sister he always goes through all the names before settling on one - thats all my life. This was just a bit freaky, in that he was talking about a dead man.

Now, its been also been pointed out to me that perhaps he meant they went to see his friend's grave, which is entirely possible so I'm going to try and wheedle a confirmation of that out of my mum, all casual like. If thats the case then fine, I'm worrying about nothing. If not then I'll have a chat with my brother and sister about keeping an eye out for anything else like that in the near future.
I may well be spazzing, but I'd rather be foolish and wrong than stoic and right.

As for painting, I'm hoping this is a quickly passing fad for me, I remember how little I enjoyed the whole thing before so I fail to understand why I'd want to do it again. Individual cool models? sure. Regiment upon regiment of identical goons? No thanks... I think...

/unlurk

Hiya - don't want to worry you unduly, but as far as I know family history doesn't really come into it with Alzheimer's...partly because up until a few decades ago it would've been explained away as someone going "a bit senile". That said, if he's normally bad with names, etc it probably is just a slip-up. But I would suggest you keep an eye on his behaviour/short term memory and if you are worried, try and figure out a way to get him to a specialist asap without freaking him out too much. The drugs that are on the market at the moment are great - they can't reverse any damage that's been done, but they do slow down the process significantly and give the person a lot more "normal" quality time. My grandfather passed away after suffering from Alzheimers last year, and thanks to the medication my grandmother was able to keep him home and with an excellent quality of life for probably 18 months longer than she would've without the drugs. He was still coherent and able to go on his daily walks months after his primary care doctor had told her she needed to put him in care. He was 91 when he died and I can honestly say that he was happy and content - and loved - right up to the end.

I've become a bit of an expert on this over the years, so if you want any info, etc just ask away. Just bear in mind that a) it may well have been a slip of the tongue or a visit to the graveyard and b) even if it is a sign of Alzheimers or another form of senile dementia (lovely term, innit?) - a lot more is known about these illnesses nowadays and treatment is available. That said, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that you were just overreacting ;)