Wednesday, May 9, 2012

FTD Revelations

So another FTD support group meeting has come and gone.  I learned two very important things.

1.  If your loved one seems to take a sudden turn for the worse, it is most likely due to another illness.  Once that illness is treated, your loved one should return to their normal FTD state.

2.  Even though someone with FTD doesn't show empathy and love in the same way they used to, it doesn't mean they don't benefit from signs of affection...a hug or kiss or "I love you."  Just because they may not be able to outwardly initiate those signs doesn't mean they don't experience the feelings and love the affection.

I also wanted to share a number of links to articles and videos that I've come across recently.  It is really great that these journalists are writing about FTD.  It is getting the word out about this terminal disease.

Forbes article: Inside The Mind Of Frontotemporal Degeneration: A Patient's Story - By: Alice G. Walton
(Featuring Howard Glick)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/05/09/inside-the-mind-of-frontotemporal-degeneration-a-patients-story/

NY Times article: When illness makes a spouse a stranger - By: Denise Grady
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/47314169/ns/health-alzheimers_disease/t/nyt-when-illness-makes-spouse-stranger/?fb_ref=.T6dLFYvIAx8.like&fb_source=timeline

Forbes article: The Other Side of Frontotemporal Degeneration: Inside A Deteriorating Brain - By: Alice G. Walton
(This is kind of a follow up to the NY Times article
http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2012/05/09/the-other-side-of-frontotemporal-degeneration-inside-a-deteriorating-brain/

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