Living With Thunder

Download or read book Living With Thunder written by Joe Brazeal and published by . This book was released on 2020-04 with total page 452 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For the first fifteen years of our marriage, we were the typical couple. All was well. Our three children were stable and for all intents and purposes, we were the average American family. Like weather slowly changing from calm to tornadic, our lives became a living hell on earth. But slowly, slowly, slowly, the love of my life, my wife Kimberly, began to change. We tried to keep our problems within our immediate family but the reality of the insanity devastated us. We couldn't hide from it anymore. First came the headaches, then the medications to ease the pain, and finally a cocktail of medications and alcohol to slow the progression of what I later learned was her brain fragmenting and disintegrating. No one knew; not even me. We treated the symptoms until her behavior became insurmountable and uncontrollable.The brain is a mystery and remains unharnessed. The power is beyond the scope of human imagination. This oddity called dementia or Alzheimer's disease has been with mankind since the beginning. What is known is that there is a breakdown in the brain. Its highways of communication become gridlocked. Essentially, it starves itself. There is no effective treatment and this disease is irreversible.Forty-seven million people worldwide and nearly six million in the United States have been diagnosed. Of those diagnosed in the United States, 200,000 fall into the category of early-onset. Sadly, it is the 6th leading cause of death. One in ten over the age of sixty-five will become lost in their own mind. These numbers are expected to triple by 2050 with cost skyrocketing. We are facing an epidemic as the baby boomer generation age. What used to be attributed as old age, is now considered Alzheimer's in some shape or fashion. Let's not rule out, sometimes folks just forget. The forgetfulness could be attributed to vitamin deficiency or caused by a thyroid imbalance. There are many factors including genetics, diet, exercise, and environment. Like anything else, if you don't use it, you lose it. This is not just an old person's disease. This disease can strike as early as age twenty-seven.The financial, physical, and emotional toll will be astronomical. Although there are no known cures or effective treatments advances are made every day. This book is a journey of hope. You'll discover coping mechanisms not found anywhere else. Know this, you are not alone. Much like an upcoming hurricane of epic proportions, knowledge is power. Having these tools provide preparation for living with thunder and the aftermath. Ignorance is not bliss. There is a God. You are not forgotten. Never give up.