A close family member of mine was diagnosed with Alzheimer's last year. He's still doing well, he remembers who everyone is, but it's hard discussing even simple strings of logic with him. He just gets lost and we have to double-back to review the thing we discussed 30 seconds ago. My mom related a story about having lunch with him, where he had both a bun and a brat on his plate, but just sat staring at them trying to figure out what the proper thing to do with them was. I'm afraid to see what happens as it advances.

Articles like these are nice to read. I don't find it a comfortable subject to talk about with my relatives, and especially with him. But hearing it from the perspective of a sufferer helps me understand what's happening and how to act around him.