A Journey from Autumn into Winter
Written by Mike
I have been thinking about my journey into Alzheimer’s disease. This is where the Lakes Social Group/Dementia Advisors is like a torch shining a light through the fog.
My journey started with vertigo and the giddiness that comes with it. That wasn’t a great surprise, as I’ve nearly always had a touch of it off and on from childhood.
However, it became increasingly clear that things were also going sideways in my head in the ways we now know.
Coming to terms with this illness, my mind has looked for similar aspects in my past that I can compare to this transformation. I came up with a couple of memories that I thought might help me.
As a newspaper boy for the NZ Herald in Tamaki, Auckland, we delivered the paper six times a week. I got used to peddling my bike through all weathers.
In my early 20s, I worked as a reporter at the Waikato Times in Hamilton. I came to like the city and the countryside. As most of our reporting was done in the morning for the printing version, we often went out in the early part of the day and often in foggy weather.
I clearly remember how we came across patches of fog when driving through Hamilton and across the countryside. A layer of mist usually warned me of the fog ahead.
The mist was often early along, with the fog across the road when we went through dips and gulleys. The further we got out into the Waikato – where the land was particularly peaty, the fog became much thicker.
As we were against a deadline, we had to ride that margin between ‘hurry’ and ‘careful’. As the fog became deeper, we had to ‘feel’ our way, but occasionally we overran the road. Friendly farm workers often helped us out of a drain with smiles, knowing they had a yarn later at the local pub.
We were so hard on the cars that the company had us reporters attend sessions to learn safe driving. It turned out the officer taking our sessions was a bloke I knew from an earlier career. My lesson from the work was that it is better to be prepared for the weather to change and be ready to adapt my driving accordingly.
Today, the changes going on in my brain and body have brought me to that experience. I need to be aware of where I am going as the mist comes down and turns into fog. I know that this is the time when I must come to terms with the fog ahead.
We benefit from the work of Dementia North (Lakes) and other agencies, and their skilled staff. I am also aware that I might go a bit off track occasionally, but slowing down and asking for help certainly helps.
