Six years after my diagnosis

Today is July 22nd and usually I don't even think twice about this date. Six years ago, today I went to the neurologist and I got the results of all the testing that I had done. That is also the day that I was misdiagnosed with Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease (EOAD) at the age of forty-seven. After seeing a second neurologist, my diagnosis was changed to (MCI) Mild Cognitive Impairment. Until this past May, I hadn't even remembered what date this diagnosis had been given to me, because this date had been forgotten, like so many other things that I forget.

This year, on Mother's Day, I came across a journal that I'd written about this horrible day! I had written about my feelings that I had on this day. Until I stumbled upon this journal, I had forgotten all about it. I didn't even remember that it existed. When I found it, I sat down and read it alone in my apartment. The tears were just streaming down my face! This is a day that I hadn't thought about in almost six years. When I found this journal, although it is very, very painful to relive that day, I knew that I had to make a video to help other people.

How I see myself six years later is so differently than what I once imagined. I am not the same person that I wrote about in my journal. I think that you can't get a diagnosis like (EOAD) Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease and many others and not have it change your life forever! I know that the person that I was six years ago, was not strong enough to be on this road, but the person who I see in the mirror and who I read about in my journal is a lot stronger person! For that I am very thankful! After six years, I don't think that I'm any closer to knowing which memory impairment I'm actually dealing with. My neurologist still thinks it is mild cognitive impairment (MCI), while my primary care doctor disagrees and says Early Onset Alzheimer's Disease (EOAD). Right now, I choose not to concentrate or worry about which diagnosis is the correct one, but rather focus on how I'm doing. The word is not as important to me anymore!