What medical illness are you afraid of the most? (heart, cancer, eye)
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Quickly is better, I agree. Not that I want to have a heart attack, but you have to die of something, so I'd prefer it to, say, cancer. But I voted for alzheimers. I've watched family members descend into mental oblivion, over a period of many years, and it's a very frightening prospect to me.
I'm afraid of most of the listed ailments! Cancer is up there, especially when you have a significant family history of it. Heart stuff and strokes are up there, too - family history.
Most of these scare me, but I voted for Alzheimers. My grandfather had bouts of memory loss in his last few months and it terrified me that he'd forget about me.
Side story: my uncle was once sitting with my grandfather just reading a newspaper, and there was a photo of Barack Obama and his wife dancing at some event. Michelle Obama had a white dress on and you could only see the back of her head, and Obama's face was a bit hidden. My uncle turned it around and showed it to my grandfather saying "do you know who this is"? My grandfather looked at it and said "Lafemme86 and [my dad] at her wedding". The story warmed my heart, as I had only gotten married a couple months before, and my dad and I had done a father-daughter dance. It's a bit funny because we're not even the same race, but nonetheless, that's what he associated with the picture.
Also, during those last few months, aside from my mom, aunt, and uncle (his kids), I was the only one he had 2 way conversations with. Everyone else just consisted of nodding, smiling, and a few one word answers.
I'm terrified of Alzheimers / Dementia because I worry that I'll end up being abused by carers. I have no family to keep an eye on me so it could happen.
I'm also afraid of necrotizing fasciitis or the flesh-eating disease. Honestly, more people die in hospital from bugs they caught there than from what they went in for originally.
I fear the results of a severe stroke. Alzheimer's doesn't concern me as the patient. I'd forget everything two minutes after it happened. Alzheimer's is always hardest on the caregiver. Cancer isn't much of a concern - I've had it, and while I don't want it back, I know that science is always finding some new treatment for it. And if it's so bad it's terminal, it's unlikely I'll be around long enough to become totally helpless. But to have a stroke and be non-verbal, immobilized, incontinent, unable to eat or drink, I don't want to live being dependent on someone for my every need or function. Besides, I have a dtr-in-law who insists that I will never be put in a nursing home while she lives and I couldn't bear to think of her having to take care of poor, pitiful me.
Not to try and scare you, but Alzheimers can be very traumatic for the patient. Some are in a constant state of anxiety about their confusion, about misunderstandings about their surroundings, and other things. Medication doesn't always solve this. And reassurances from others around them don't help,because they seem not to believe or understand what they're told, and forget what they've been told within minutes. That's not something I want to experience.
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