jilzh6ini6r S DiSGclS©! This century's medical mystery
ffithhope, Dennings find a way to cope
June 13, 1985
page B1
In-depth features on
people, places and issues.
jiareno outward signs that this lovely
iflloPark home is any different from its
Ills.
jiliereare only a few signs on the inside
jjtihing is different. But those are
i
of dead flowers with a bright red bow
I,[((line’s heart sits on a table near the
It visitors. On the table close to the
,few red leaves hang on the dead stems
liisimas poinsettia, and directly in front
a fresh bunch of Easter flowers sits
jHecovered with a week’s worth of dust,
aids of a TV game show can be heard
ilack room.
liorner, not far from the couch, sits a
a with a picture of a lovely young lady,
I the smile of a high school graduate.
i)'C. Denning doesn’t remember getting
life flowers, nor does she remember the
It she dusted. When asked about the
on the bookcase, Mrs. Denning calls
lire of her sister.
(iT. Denning reminds his wife, 67, that
iipicture of the couple’s only daughter,
tell, whatever. I get so confused,” says
[tnning, nodding her head as if she
to when, in actuality, she doesn’t.
Denning has Alzheimer’s disease,
tee million other Americans, she has
kjenerative brain disorder that first
iialoss of memory, progresses with the
(speech and the ability to walk and results
1,usually of pneumonia.
neurologist, encountered a woman who showed
all the signs of severe dementia — memory loss,
disorientation and hallucinations - even though
she was only 51. After her death, he examined
her brain and discovered that part of it contain
ed clumps of twisted nerve cell fibers that he
called “neurofibrillary tangles.”
Alzheimer first thought the disease existed on
ly in the young, but in the 60s, research
discovered the same disorder in the elderly and it
became apparent that the disease was neither
presenile nor rare.
Alzheimer’s disease usually occurs after age
65, but it can strike in the 40s. Early symptoms
include trouble with language or personality
changes, apraxix (difficulty in performing rote
gestures, such as hair combing) and trouble
making judgments, such as dressing for winter
in midsummer.
Mrs. Denning is still in the early stages of the
disease. She can’t remember what she ate for
breakfast or dinner or even if she is hungry. She
can’t remember members of her family or
friends or how to care for herself.
But she remembers with ease things that hap
pened in her early childhood, says her husband.
“Her memory of recent events is completely
wiped out,” he says. “All of us suffer some
memory loss, but this is different. She’s not try
ing to fool you; it’s just completely wiped out of
her mind. There is a loss of brain cells. There is
no replacing it.”
For example, Denning says his wife’s brother
often will come to visit her and stay for hours.
Shortly after he leaves she will complain that her
brother never comes to see her. She also went
, .y...
"It's the worst thing
I have ever come in
contact with. You can't
explain it to anybody.
If I had just one-half hour
to discuss anything
with her... I never will
reach her anymore."
liimer’s disease strikes people of every
*iisocio-economic group, and the
•“teases has expanded rapidly with the
the nation’s elderly population.
•'feg to an article in Newsweek,
■f’s disease has become “the disease of
•®y.” About 7 percent of the people
8 it the United States are severely disabled
the lives of more than 120,0(X)
‘*tiyear, including actress Rita
*ibnd artist Norman Rockwell. It has
Jfc fourth leading cause of death among
litter heart disease, cancer and stroke.
*••8 says he first discovered that
■8 was wrong with his wife in 1976.
tit know at first what it was,” he says.
I'ke would write down everything. She
ijisive notes and repeated the same
® instance, when she would give me a
1st, she would write eggs, can milk, go
''“Msix items and then repeat the first
"'I'l think much of it at the time.
**on for six to eight months. Finally, I
'"ittoseeher.”
test after test, and still nobody
iitinine what was wrong with his wife,
tiling,
through a period, says Denning, when every
night she would carry on about wanting to go
home in Raleigh. Although she was born and
raised in kaleigh, she hasn’t lived there since
1948.
In order for Denning to maintain his govern
ment job in Greensboro, he has hired a
housekeeper to watch Mrs. Denning full time.
He did that after he discovered her roaming
around the neighborhood.
Denning remembers one scare during a trip to
a conference in Nevada with Mrs. Denning.
That was before Denning felt comfortable
enough to tell strangers about his wife’s disease.
While attending one of his conference ses
sions, Denning left his wife with the wives of
some of the other men attending the conference.
When she tired of the group, she told them she
was leaving and wandered off. When Denning
came back for her and found her missing, he
was devastated.
“It was just a nightmare,” says Denning of
the incident. “I got in a patrol car with an of
ficer and rode all through the campus (the col
lege campus where the conference was held),
looking for her. Finally she went to a place and
wanted to call me at home. Of course, she
wasn’t going to get an answer there. Then she
®''erything out that was known,”
, inally, they said it was Alzheimer’s
r Mthey couldn’t be sure. The only sure
II out is a brain biopsy (an examina-
u tissue to determine if the disease is
^ • didn’t see the need of that. It’s fine
They don’t know what causes it or
' now a treatment. So there is no
l^®lheni through that.”
i^entiy^ 5^ys jjjg Newsweek article,
* disease was considered an exotic
^ ”7 recently has medical science
^'iitavel the Alzheimer’s riddle,
loise Alzheimer, a German
called her sister in Washington.”
When they found Mrs. Denning hours later,
she was in downtown Reno.
Denning, a quiet man who seems to use
laughter and humor to cope with his pain,
realizes that his wife won’t be getting any better.
“She is going down, down, down,” says Den
ning. “It’s not getting any better. She used to be
real stout, now she’s thin. Lots of times she
won’t eat.
“It’s the worst thing I have ever come in con
tact with. You can’t explain it to anybody.
“If I had just one-half hour to discuss
anything with her .... I never will reach her
anymore. You don’t know what it’s like ^^'hen
both parties can’t converse.
“Sometimes you think, why does it have to be
this way? It’s really a terrible experience. But a
lot are in worse shape (than Mrs. Denning).”
Both Mr. and Mrs. Denning belong to a local
Alzheimer’s support group. Those attending the
meetings are in various stages of the disease.
Not only has Denning learned a lot about thq
disease by joining the group, but he also has
learned what to expect as his wife’s disease pro
gresses.
“You try to accept it,” says Denning when
asked if he can accept the future. “But it’s hard
to do.”
Denning says he would advise anybody who
has a family member with Alzheimer’s disease to
accept it.
“Don’t get discouraged because there is no
Please see page B14
Story by Robin Adams
Photos hy James Parker
Above, Mrs. Dennings sits quietly by herself;
below, the two pose for a family photograph.