Two Women

 

No, it's not about the famous italian movie 'Two Women' with Sophia Loren (widow), and her daughter, who had to leave Rome during the war.

My post is about two former neighbors of mine (rip), mother (widow) and daughter who had both Alzheimer.

What I've learned from their sad case is that genetics, even though it is inescapable,  can nevertheless  be delayed  -  provided the other two  factors on the pyramid, stress and nutrition, are kept under control. Nutrition is the easy part. We definitely can control it. Stress, is another matter; it  is not entirely in our hands. Sometimes, people have to leave home and/or work, , in order to survive, as stress in these places is too much for them; it kills.

The mother , a widow, lived alone in a small flat. Was of a calm nature and led a quiet, uneventful life. She got diagnosed with Alzheimer in her mid-seventies.When the disease progressed, she was placed in an adequate facility, where she was taken good care of. She was well over 90 when she passed.

The daughter lived with her husband and two teenage girls in an adjacent building. She had a stressful life, especially because of conflicts with her husband. Unfortunately for her, he retired early from work, and was constantly at home, doing nothing but criticizing her.

She was diagnosed with Alzheimer in her mid sixties, some ten years earlier than her mother. After getting diagnosed, she was given a live-in home carer.

Sometimes, I used to see her  with the carer outside , and it broke my heart. I 'd known her as a tall, talkative, active person - and there she was - her head down, not recognizing anyone, not talking, a fragment of the original person. With her, the disease progressed rapidly.

It seemed her two daughters (who'd left home but not the town) gave up on her. If they would have been there  to hug her, cuddle her, talk to her, maybe she would have felt something, reacted to love and attention, retained some form of humanity.

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We come into the world alone and we leave it alone, even though there are people around us, at birth and at funerals. Those with Alzheimer not only come and leave alone, but also live alone, in a world completely their own.

Discipline and Slogans

 

Discipline is the name of the game; nothing important  can be achieved without discipline -  self - discipline, as well as national discipline.

 There are countries in the far East  that have managed to keep the covid-19  virus under control: Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong-Kong, Thailand, Vietnam..... 

Discipline in these countries is instilled from childhood. People there have respect for  rules and for authority. Above all, they respect themselves and those around them. 

The western countries on the other hand,  rely on slogans,  and seek what seems to be the easy way out  - vaccine.  Slogans can lack clarity , and  even be confusing. Protests and pressure of  citizens against restrictions, don't make things better.

'Stay Home'  - the most memorable slogan during this pandemic , means what it says : stay home. You may leave the house for basic necessities only, and for a short time.

At first it worked well, but then people lost patience and started giving their own interpretation to the slogan. According to this interpretation, the problem lies merely in confined spaces with no adequate distancing among people. 

Well, I'm not so sure about that. I don't dare yet going for a long walk in the park or sitting and eating in the outdoor spaces of restaurants and cafes. The virus, in my humble opinion, is in the air waiting to strike both indoors and outdoors. Masks and distancing may prevent that, but not hermetically.

Anyway, we shall have to wait and see the impact of the vaccine on the virus and its victims.