One of the things that I learned a few years ago, the local chapter, the Alzheimer's disease had a town hall meeting where only people with early Alzheimer's disease could talk. Nobody else was allowed to talk. It was so informative. The thing I remember the most was this mountain of a man who was a plumber. He said, “You know, I can still do my job. I can still do it well.” He says, “I’m having a terrible time driving and remembering where I am but when I get to the job, I’m as good a plumber as I ever was and it’s not my fault that I got this disease, so just get me to the job and I can still work.”
I think that’s the other thing we need to think about in people with early Alzheimer's disease. They’re still of value. They can still do things and sometimes, as soon as the diagnosis is made, then everybody around them sort of thinks, “Well, you know, they can’t do it anymore.” That’s not true. They’re not wrong about everything. They remember some things better than their family members might remember them. Being able to have that conversation early on is really important.
