Each day from October 5-12, I will post one of my
mother’s recipes (my favorites of course), how FTD has affected my family and a
little bit about the AFTD.
What is
Frontotemporal Degeneration?
Damage to the brain’s frontal and temporal lobes affects
complex thinking and reasoning. These
problems in “executive function” alter a person’s ability to plan, organize and
execute activities. People gradually
become less involved in routine daily activities and withdraw emotionally from
others. Symptoms may include
distractibility, inflexibility, reduced initiative, apathy, poor judgment and
abrupt mood changes.
How has FTD
affected my family?
On the weekends when my mom had more time around the
house, she would make us girls pancakes for breakfast. Then later when we had our own families and
would visit on the weekends, she would make pancakes for the grandkids and us. She had that recipe memorized and she would
whip up a batch in no time at all. And
no one had to worry if we ran out because if we did, she would just make
another batch.
When the symptoms of FTD began to appear, she would have
to be coaxed to make those pancakes. As
she got worse, she was unable to plan and prepare the pancakes so one of us
would make them for her. She just didn’t
have the initiative anymore. This was
particularly hard on the grandchildren.
We were very open with the grandkids about her
degenerative disease, but it was still sad for them as well. My younger niece and nephew don’t concern
themselves with the fact that she rarely says a word or even smiles anymore. They just hop up in her lap and love on
her. My daughter has said many times how
much she misses her Grammy. It is very
important not to shield the children from the progression. Depending on their age, there are many ways
to approach the topic. The AFTD has
valuable resources for approaching the topic with children and teens at http://www.aftdkidsandteens.org/.
How can I help?
The first thing you can do to help is to learn as much as
you can about FTD and the Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration or AFTD (www.theaftd.org). The AFTD is a not-for-profit organization
founded to advocate for more funding into the causes and treatments of FTD as
well as provide caregivers and patients with a dependable source of accurate,
reliable information and support. The
second thing you can do is make a donation to the AFTD. Your support helps to promote and fund
research into finding the cause, therapies and cures for FTD. Please go to http://theaftd.givezooks.com/grassroots_fundraisers/alice-s-angels-food-for-thought-2014
and make a donation during our 2nd Annual Food for Thought week, October 5-12.
Favorite Pancakes
Sift together:
1 ¼ cup sifted all-purpose
flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Combine:
1 egg beaten
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon oil
Pour wet ingredients into
the dry ingredients and stir to combine until flour is moistened and batter is
lumpy.
Pour ¼ cup batter onto
hot, oiled griddle. Flip when bubbles
begin to form and break. Continue
cooking till the center is cooked and pancakes are browned. Makes 12-16 small pancakes.
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