It’s comforting to know that studies continue on the mystery of dementia.
I have read that the brain tissue lab at Dalhousie University, led by Dr. Sultan Darvesh, has concluded that there’s hope for a cure for Alzheimer’s or, at least, that one in three cases may be preventable. This comforts me.
Dementia is something I hope my family will be spared.
I remember arranging to donate my brain when I am done with it. But there’s a caution … I didn’t do well in school.
I have wonderful news … I am back at the gym after an eight-month hiatus when I fell and broke my left shoulder.
For me the gym is much more than exercise, it’s mixing with other people I would not have met otherwise. But the exercise is essential. Dale was happy to have me back and paid special attention to me while Dorothea sat at the front desk keeping an eye on me.
And then came Dayna who gives me personal attention. I know she loves me but what can I do! I still appreciate her patience. Dorothea is watching us even closer. But Dayna doesn’t take it easy with me, so as a result I am too tired to flirt. When she delivers me to Dorothea I’m taken home to rest. Dayna is a lawyer but decided to do something useful like helping an old demented guy get on with his life.
I have been asked how I can stay in a good mood with that dastardly disease affecting my life. I have no answer to that.
Meanwhile I am scrambling to try to remember the names of fellow gymsters who are still my friends.
Here’s another sign of dementia. I could be in the kitchen when I think I should remind Dorothea we are short of jam or peanut butter or whatever. When I walk into the den to tell her, I forget what it is we need. Dorothea remains bemused.
Staring at me as I sit in the den is a yellow book — The Newfoundland Dictionary of the English Language. My mother used to say I was lazy as a Mahone soldier and an omadhaun. You can guess what that meant. I’ll teach you more Newfoundlandese in subsequent columns.
I don’t want to brag about it, but Newfoundlanders seem to avoid taking stuff too seriously. You may know that we were very concerned about letting our rich-in-lore island join the rest of you.
Cape Breton looked promising though.
http://thechronicleherald.ca/opinion/1560911-fardy-return-to-gym-more-than-exercise-—-it’s-essential