Up 'til Now

So here are the e-mails that I have sent out to everyone thus far:
This was the first sent on 10/28/08:
All,

Some of you have heard that my dad was in the hospital this weekend. He had a TIA which is basically a mini stroke. The weird part of a TIA is that there is no evidence of it once it has stopped. After MRI's, CT's, EEG, EKG, and Ultrasound no signs of an obvious stroke were found. After the episode I witnessed he returned to all of his normal physical functions, so that is the best news I have.

It turns out that my dad has been diagnosised with Mild Cognitive Impairment. This is an in between step from the normal cognitive decline due to aging to the more serious disease Alzheimer's. Things are going to get interesting as I will learn more about this as he follows up with his doctor. He is on prescription medication for this and it will hopefully slow come of the progression for a while. I do not know how fast this will progress or if we will even see a progression. Things will be touch and go for a little while until we can hopefully get a grasp on where he is mentally. About half of patients who have Mild Cognitive Impairment end up with Alzheimer's in five years.

For those of you who have known about this thank you for your words, thoughts, and prayers. For those on this list that are just hearing about this I ask that you would keep my dad in your prayers. I will let you all no more as I know more, but this e-mail makes updating everyone easier than making 20 phone calls. Once again I appreciate all the prayers and I am thankful for everyone of you. Have a great week, and I will talk to you soon.

This was the second sent on 11/12/08:
All,

I want to thank everyone for their prayers. Today my dad and I went to his follow up appointment with his neurologist. The out come of his situation is still unclear, but each appointment gets us closer to an answer. He was sent for some lab test that will help us to understand better what his diagnosis will be. There are 2 possible out comes as of now: 1. B12 deficiency; 2. Probable Alzheimer's.

If it is B12 deficiency he can take a supplement to help correct this. However, this does not mean that he will gain back all of his memory or that it will prevent his dementia from getting worse.

As for the second possible diagnosis of probable Alzheimer's there is no test for it. The doctor was joking with my dad and said they can tell either through a biopsy or an autopsy. Dad was not excited about the second option...But it was good to see him laugh during this time.

We have another appointment in 4 weeks, which, hopefully like this appointment will get us closer to what to do next. The doctor did give the contact information for a Geriatric Care Manager. She can help me with making decisions on what I need to be doing, and help us to form a plan if/when things get worse with his memory. This is a big blessing, and I hope to meet with her soon.

As for my dad's feelings about this. Today was the first time he admitted to being "scared", because he does not remember what happened and why he was in the hospital. As we left I asked what he was thinking and he told me he was "concerned" and he "did not know what to say."

Please continue to pray for direction for both me and my father. Also that he would have the strength and the discernment to understand what is going on and why we are doing what we are doing. Thank you all for your support it means a tremendous amount to my father and me.