Forget-me-not

The feeling that I might forget, is something that scares me a lot. I saw my grandma live with Alzheimer’s disease. I am not that sentimental to cling on and live in nostalgia but yes, somewhere I do secretly hoard all the pictures I feel are vital. I had read this quote once, “its sad that you can’t remember the things that I will never forget”. We saw Ajji struggle with recollecting routes, her plan for the day, get agitated, restlessness and aggressive; we tried but I don’t think we could do much. She knew she was missing out on something and she couldn’t figure out what. 

Ribot’s law says that in retrograde amnesia remote memory is retained better than recent, and I thought I would create as many wonderful memories as I could now so that if I do happen to get the disease, I will be still left with great stories for people around. So that’s the plan, cherish friendships, do all the things that might help me remember who I am at the core because, come on, we know that our identity lies on our memories and perceptions, that is one thing I can’t risk: to lose myself. This is my future planning, so that my older self will look back and smile at this young one.

Ps: Socialising, math, puzzles, active lifestyle, antioxidant rich foods and laughing a lot have shown encouraging results in preventing and delaying Alzheimer’s. 

It has familial predisposition.