Dad's Illness

One of the things foremost on my mind these days is my dad's illness. He was recently diagnosed with Pick's Disease, which is a form of dementia very similar to Alzheimer's. (see my links for more info). Dad was forced into retirement after 38 years of working at the same job after the company's entire retirement fund was embezzled and the company was forced to close down. He did pretty well the first year, staying busy with projects at home. Then we started to notice gradual personality changes, quicker temper, childish behavior, inappropriate comments in public, etc. Finally Mom persuaded him to go to the doctor, where cognitive testing showed a severe deficit. After an MRI, EEG, blood work and further testing, his neurologist diagnosed him with Pick's about six weeks ago.

Dad's temper is getting worse, he's very quick to anger now where he used to be as laid back as they come. It is also very difficult to carry on a conversation with him, as he has difficulty finding words. This is hard for me because he was my debate opponent for so long, the one person I felt safe really arguing with.