Different Minds: Living with Alzheimer Disease
By Lorna Drew and Leo Ferrari
3.5/5
()
About this ebook
Lorna Drew
Following a 20-year career as a nurse, Lorna Drew changed directions and became a writer and lecturer. She teaches at St. Thomas University in Fredericton.
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Different Minds - Lorna Drew
Ferrari
Grateful Acknowledgements
First and foremost, our thanks to the wonderful women at the Alzheimer Society of New Brunswick, Fredericton: Gloria McIlveen, Chandra Parrot and Leona Gallant. They were, and are, there when we need them.
Pepita Ferrari, who did the first reading of the completed manuscript, for her many helpful suggestions.
Dr. Hazel MacRae, Department of Sociology, Mount Saint Vincent University, who has included Leo’s case in her ongoing research on the ravages of Alzheimer disease, ut scientia progrederetur.
Our editor, Sabine Campbell, who miraculously fashioned an orderly narrative from shreds and patches.
To the drivers of Fredericton’s Checker Cab Company, who always see us safely home.
And lastly, and most gratefully, to our wonderful network of friends, who love us and put up with us, and to whom we turn increasingly for help and comfort.
The Authors Introduce Themselves
A Word from Leo
I am Leo Ferrari, the subject of Different Minds: Living with Alzheimer Disease. I was diagnosed with Alzheimer Disease in January of 2003. I decided to write this book since I have always believed that when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
I was born in Australia in 1927. My first background is in science, and years of practical scientific analysis were followed eventually (in Canada) by years of studying, teaching, and publishing in medieval studies. My first discipline proved to be of enormous advantage in making and clearly explaining new discoveries. I trust that the same will apply to this present task.
After thirty-eight years of teaching, I retired from St. Thomas University and was honoured to be appointed its first Professor Emeritus. So what caused me to become an Alzheimer survivor? Was it all my mental exertions? I hope my story in the following pages will show that there is no connection.
I chose to share my experiences here so that readers may profit from them, especially by recognizing the early signs of the onset of Alzheimer Disease in themselves or loved ones. It is important to recognize these signs for what they really are, because there are medications now available that can be used to slow down the progress of the disease.
A Word from Lorna
When Leo was diagnosed with Alzheimer Disease (AD), he wanted desperately to be able to help others in their struggle with it. To that end, he decided to write a pamphlet sharing his insights. I became involved in the project when I was asked for my input at a joint presentation on the subject. We used a sort of he said, she said
format, in which I, the caregiver, and Leo, the person living with AD, each presented our individual points of view. Our talk was so popular that we decided to piggyback my text onto Leo’s original writing for this book.
Leo has been writing all his life. It’s his favourite occupation; working at his desk is the activity he enjoys best. I’ve never had to worry about whether he was bored or not. A creature of routine, Leo — a scholar who specialized in the writings of St. Augustine — has been totally absorbed in his work for years and years. Most of his time was spent wrestling his theories on St. Augustine into elegant academic articles, though he self-published two books of poetry: The Worm’s Revenge (1968) and Over the Edge! (1977). He calls his pithy little verses Ferrarigrams.
Alzheimer Disease has robbed Leo of the sustained memory needed to produce lengthy articles, but his language skills continue to provide enjoyment both for himself and others. Out of the proverbial lemons, he continues to manufacture lemonade. As of this writing, he is unable to keep the narrative sequence connecting beginning, middle, and end in his head, so the short, humorous personal essay has become his forte. Many of these essays have been published in the New Brunswick Reader, the Saturday supplement of the Telegraph-Journal. It’s my new career,
he says. I’m writing funny stories. I love to make people laugh.
And laugh they do. People meet him on the street and thank him for