UKC

Robin Illingworth writes about climbing with his friend, who stayed active long after a semantic dementia diagnosis.

'Why do we climb? Because when we are stripped back to a primal state, climbing is one of the last things to go.'

'I am unbelievably glad that I can still recall that day and that a couple of words are enough to bring it all back. I know in that moment, that of all the things I might lose as frailty takes hold, losing my memory is the thing I fear the most.'

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Great article imo.Thanks for writing it.

A superb piece… and sadly, so true. Yes, we all know a Chris - in my case a Christine. Absolutely heartbreaking. 

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend Robin. I don't know what kind of dementia Chris has, but there is a lot of progress being made in understanding Alzheimer's. Professor Dale Bredesen has published a lot of research and has recently developed the first protocol for curing it. This is using a Functional Medicine approach which relies on nutrition and lifestyle strategies rather than pharmaceutical drugs, which tend to only manage symptoms.

Certainly there is a lot of information out there on Functional Medicine in general, and how it can be used to support brain health and slow down progession of various neurodegenerative diseases (and indeed many other 'modern' or so-called 'lifestyle' diseases).

This, my friend, is a brilliantly written article. I´m 64, my Mum went through agony in her lucid periods during the 12 years of dementia before she died at 88, and of course it´s the way of going that I dread the most. If the condition strikes, it seems that it´s the most powerful positive memories which allow you to hold on to some sort of pleasure in living, and climbing has always been more than willing to provide me with those. It´s a horrible theme, but you´ve made a kind of poem out of the subject, albeit a tragic but still a beautiful one. Thank you.

Having seen friends go through the agony of losing parents to Alzheimer's the idea of a cure sound fantastic, but googling this professor there are suggestions that it might be more fantastical https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7377549

Thoughts?

Brilliant article.

Such a cleverly and beautiful crafted article. Thank you for writing this. 

Brilliant, (and sad), article. Mum died with Alzheimers many years ago. A hellish disease for all concerned.

I am not dealing with any of those degenerative diseases directly. This article really made me think about it in a touching and realistic way. Thanks for writing it.

typo!

My family's past, present and future. Terribly sad. A great article, thanks. 

Thanks for writing that. Very moving. 

Such a good piece, well done. As you say, we'll all have our own experiences relating to this.

From my own perspective, "Chris is... incredibly lucky to find a place where care is constant" hits home. For most, this is absolutely not the case and it's only when you get directly involved in the so-called care sector that you realise what an absolute nightmare it is. Please, please can we find politicians with the balls to properly engage with this? It will take resource but I suspect there's a huge slice of the population who, if asked, would gladly pay extra income tax to fix it. Just need politicians to level with us and be honest...

Fantastic article. Well written. Brave of you to write it. Thank you.

Heartfelt, beautifully written and moving. Thank you.

Thank you for writing such an honest article. You are the friend we all need, so well done.  Chris is a very fortunate man to have such a loyal friend and it works both ways.  You will always have wonderful memories of great days together.

Thanks for writing this.  Very moving and very thought provoking.

What a beautifully written and heartfelt piece. Thank you.

This is a very thoughtful and sensitive piece of writing- thank you for posting it. The advice is all good; having seen people I know / knew well with dementia I’ve seen how we can learn about what they need and how to help them. And yes, for us climbers, climbing can indeed be one of the last things to go. Best wishes, Robin.

yea, the above ticks all the snake oil red flags. There’s always money to be made when people are desperate.

  One of my earliest climbing partners, beginning in 1968, faded from contact as years passed. He was a no-show at my 50th high school reunion, but I'd found an email address, and wrote with information about other old friends re-connected.
  I was disturbed at his replies, because he was rather vague, but far more, he had absolutely no recognition of several who we'd been on road trips with - even when I included a short, humorous video clip of one of the most distinctively eccentric ones, recounting a tale in his unique voice and countenance that had changed little over the years.
  I had to conclude that my friend was no longer the person I'd known, and that he was likely slipping into a mental decline from which there was no recovery.
  How we age is partially within our control, partially who we've become, and partially beyond our control, by genetics and the vagaries of health, illness, and the lives we've built.
  In the end, the numbers become incidental, and trying to retain "hard man" credentials really only ends with being at best a curiosity, what I call a "glacial erratic," or at worst a laughable anachronism. Be kind, share bits but don't overstay your welcome; appreciate the young who respect and appreciate you, and politely ignore the ones who don't.