Watch PBS tonight--very important show for all of us.

[janelle]

http://www.pbs.org/theforgetting/

About alzheimer's disease. My mother isn't really bad with it. She can still carry on conversations and remember but very hard. She lives in the moment most of the time.

This is growing into an epidemic for us in the future.

[janelle]

About the Show
The Forgetting: A Portrait of Alzheimer's is a two-hour special aimed at helping people better understand and cope with the fearsome disease of Alzheimer's. The cornerstone of the project is a 90-minute documentary based on David Shenk's best-selling book The Forgetting. Like Shenk's book, the documentary is a dramatic, compassionate, all-encompassing look at Alzheimer's that weaves together the history and biology of the disease, the intense real-world experiences of Alzheimer's patients and caregivers, and the race to find a cure.

The documentary is followed by Alzheimer's: The Help You Need, a half-hour program hosted by David Hyde Pierce that features top Alzheimer's experts from around the nation. No matter what your relationship to Alzheimer's, the follow-up show will outline what you need to know about Alzheimer's and where you can turn for help.

Air Date
The Forgetting will premiere on PBS January 21, 2004 at 9 PM ET/PT. However, your local PBS station might opt to air it earlier or later on that day. Check below to find out when it will air on your local station. If an airdate is not listed, contact your PBS station to see if a broadcast is planned.

[janelle]

About the Book that Inspired the Documentary
David Shenk was inspired to write The Forgetting after overhearing a restaurant conversation about a man and his wife, a woman in her 50's stricken by Alzheimer's disease. When Shenk realized that the woman couldn't recognize her own husband, he was horrified. By the time the author left the restaurant, he was sobbing at the mere thought of his wife becoming a total stranger during what should be the best years of their marriage.

Back in his office, he was determined to know more about the disease that had gripped his imagination so completely. His search led him to a complex, fascinating pool of stories that immediately immersed him.

The result was The Forgetting: Alzheimer's - Portrait of an Epidemic, a dense and impassioned snapshot of Alzheimer's many faces. In the book, Shenk recounts intensely personal tales, past and present, of living with Alzheimer's and reveals the forces behind the growing epidemic and equally fierce race for a cure. Shenk confronts readers with what memory means to the human condition and what the disease will mean to each of us in the future.


About the Producer
The Forgetting's producer, Elizabeth Arledge, has been a respected documentary producer, writer, and director for over 20 years. She has produced for prominent shows such as Frontline, NOVA, and CBS news and has received many prestigious honors, including the Christopher Award for the 1995 series "Discovering Women," the OWL award for WNET's "Live Long and Prosper," and multiple science awards for her NOVA programs, "Surviving AIDS" (1999) and "Cracking the Code of Life" (2001). She has also been nominated for two National Emmys and a Writer's Guild Award.

Ms. Arledge loves documenting people's stories for PBS, because she gets to tell personal stories honestly, without commercial pressures. Says Arledge, "Medical science documentaries are particularly rewarding because they offer viewers important information and hope about very difficult situations. The combination of intellectual, personal and artistic fulfillment is, for me, the perfect job."

[rlynn411]

My grandmother has Alzheimer's. She doesn't know anyone any more. Each time I see her she keeps telling me she going to go visit her mom and pop, My grandma's 83, and basically in perfect helath other wise. Its hard to see people under go all the changes that comes with this terrible disease. My son who is 12 comments from time to time how sad it is to see her like this...he used to love being with her when he was younger...but unfortunately its been down hill for the past 5 or 6 years.

[Lilpetie]

Being a nurse and working in Geriatrics and Psych most of 27 yrs I have seen this over and over. It is soooooooo hard on the families. It tears them apart emotionally and physically. I also worked in an Adult Day Care for dymentia (confusion) and it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. Most of the patients arent in any pain. Most dont even know they cant remember things. They think they are normally ok. It is such a slow progressive disease. They dont die from this it is the complications that end their life.
A normal scenario is having a woman or man in their early 60's (just a general age) come up to the nursing desk and say where am I what is my name, or where is mom/dad. The fiddle with things alot. The wander alot. They cant find their room or their bed when they get there. You can try to orientate them over and over and then they come back 2 sec later and say the whole thing over and over. This goes on for hours. Night-time is generally the worst. They are called "sun-downers". They often get to the combative stage. You really need to be specially trained to watch for things that trigger behavior and being aggressive or assertive is one big NO NO. That only makes them more aggitated. It takes a very special person with that certain type of personality to care for an Alzheimer client.
Imagine having them at home and dealing with this non-stop as this is what the families go thru. Getting up at all hours of the night to make sure they are still in the house. Trying to find things they have put somewhere (usually in the strangest of places). You have to watch them with an eagles eye. They can endanger themselves and not even know it. And the scariest of things is that some are even out there still trying to drive vehicles (that is until the are diagnosed)
One good thing to watch for is in your home town if you are near a nursing home and you see a person walking that you question (looks different or just not quit right) call your local police to check it out. It may have been a "wanderer" that somehow got out of the home and you could save their life. I have worked at facilities that in the their past have had residents sneak past the alarms or go out with visitors that thought they were holding the door open for another person that got lost only to die in the elements.

[nanajoanie]

Research seems to be advancing along and maybe someday we can eliminate this terrible disease. Seems it may be as simple as aspirin therapy , diet, exercise. Lets hope so.

[janelle]

Thank God my mother never wandered since she had trouble walking but she lived with me for seven years. Unfortunately a small stroke put her into a care home. I had to help her with so many things after that, even eating, I had to let others help me.

But she can be so funny at times and stays in the present. We just need to accept them differently. I told my sister it's like when your kids become teens. You may not like their new behavior but you do accept it and that they are going to change as the years go by. This is the same way when our parents get old. It's now our turn to accept their new behavior. They coped with us and we can cope with them.

[Lilpetie]

Janelle you have the BEST attitude with this illness. I COMMEND you..... This is EXACTLY the kind of attitude it takes. I couldnt agree more with the statement that now it is their turn to be cared for. And yes they can be "funny" at times. The nurse I worked with at the Day Care I swear was the best I have ever seen. She would joke with them. Actually she would BS with them in a sweet way. She just had a natural way with Alzheimers clients. She would have them all laughing at her and even interacting trying to mimic her. She reminded me of Robin Williams in the part he played as a Doctor (cant remember his name Patch something). They would look at her as if she was completely looney and they loved it. But it distracted them to what she wanted. Unfortunatley funding wasnt there so the place had to be closed. SO SAD.
I have a book I bought for my son when he was born called I love you now I love you forever. It talks about when He was young I rocked him then goes into him rocking me when I grow old. I cried my eyes out.

[janelle]

It was Patch Adams. I have that movie.

I watched the program. Had some local doctors on afterward. One said we all need to keep learning. I read that something about that. Our minds need to create more pathways which learning does for us. Then if we ever get dementia the more pathways we have the better for us. If the plaque kills off some of the brain we will have reserves. And to remain active and eat a healthy diet.

Thank you Lilpetie. When you are a caregiver you learn to have this attitude. At first it's confusing but then you start to understand and accept.