Charles DeCarli, director of the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center, was distraught when he heard thata few weeks ago — partly because he knows better than most what it means.
, the kind that would grow worse over time, his decision to end a career he clearly loved suggests he does. And although progressive aphasia and dementia are different kinds of brain disease, as is Alzheimer’s, they share in common an ongoing decline that is devastating, unstoppable and often slow enough to make it feel like a never-ending loop of the five stages of grief.Legendary “Die Hard” and “Pulp Fiction” star Bruce Willis will end his acting career after being diagnosed with aphasia.
He thinks the significance of degenerative brain disease is “up there with stroke, heart disease and cancer” in terms of its prevalence. But it could “eclipse them depending on how things grow. This could overwhelm our system,” he said.Mention the words “women’s health,” and Alzheimer’s disease may not immediately come to mind.
In some cases, the loved one seems to come and go. In others, they become strangers. Many, like my father, lose the ability, or the will, to understand the progression. He tries to explain what seems like emotional responses are the result of physiological changes and reassure families that their loved one did and does love them.