gailstorm

So, my shrink said this would be good for me. And that was a while ago, and now I've finally given in. I tell you guys all the time that I have "memory loss". Well, that's all fine and dandy, but I'm not really calling it what it is.

I have dementia.

This cannot be cured in me. The damage is not reversable.

Right now, it is mild, but it will progress in severity until I'm around 25 (hopefully). Then, the dementia will no longer progress, but the damage done now will stay with me.

This is because of my Basilar (Artery) Migraines and pediatric strokes.

So when I say, "I have memory loss", please don't reply, "Oh, I'm blonde, too."

This isn't 'cause I'm blonde.

This isn't cause I'm a ditz.

This is because my brain is erroding itself away.

The most emotional parts of my life are the most effected. I do not remember losing my virginity, but I remember being stressed after it, and my memory returns, vaguely, about halfway through the next day. I will not remember my wedding day. With near certainty, I will not remember the birth of my children.

So, please. Do not belittle me when I have a problem with memory. If I repeat myself a second time, just go with it. A third time, gimmie a nudge and tell me the record's broke again.

But don't call me a blonde ditz, at least not because of the dementia.

And why have I never said it's actual name? Dementia sounds very... well, scary. And it is scary, but I don't want it to be. It sounds like I'm demented. And I think it's much more polite to explain myself by saying "memory loss" than say a big medical term.