As old age creeps on us, we find that gradually we tend to forget things. The first thing we notice is that we find it difficult to put names to faces. We struggle to remember people’s names or other important things about them. Then forgetfulness takes a hold on us and it is a downhill ride.
One becomes weak in limbs and has to resort to surgery for knee or hip replacement. One may get away with ones physical problems by modern methods but the deterioration of the grey cells in the brain cannot be halted.
Nothing can be done to reverse the process as the damaged cells cannot be replaced. Imagine your plight when you go out of the house and forget where to return to your home? Or keep forgetting where you have placed your keys or wallet or do not remember whether you have turned the television off before retiring to bed at night.
With modern medicine and excellent health care available in the advanced countries like the UK, more and more of us live longer and longer. The blood pressure and cholesterol levels lowering drugs, as well as the Metformin tablets or insulin injections to control diabetes give many people a longer lease of life. But dementia and Alzhaimer diseases get a grip on us and even though our limbs are in working order, our brains are unable to keep pace with today’s fast moving life and modern technology.
Dinesh Sheth
Newbury Park, Ilford
