Thank you to everyone who attended the Poolside Chat last night! If you missed our conversation, you can watch the recording here: https://www.skool.com/dementia-lifeboat/classroom Please register for our next Poolside Chat on May 26 at 5:30 pm Arizona https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/PRzPtXKIRf-NNdHzhSToUg#/registration

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Walter, 71. Came in because his wife insisted. His complaint: "I don't really have a problem. I'm just slower than I used to be." His wife's version was different. "He's lost two sets of car keys this year. He stopped going to his Tuesday card game because he couldn't keep up. He gets agitated in the afternoons and snaps at me, which has never been him." I asked Walter what a typical day looked like. "I wake up around 6. Read the paper. Used to do the crossword but I don't bother anymore. Watch TV. Take a nap. Watch more TV. Go to bed." I asked when he last initiated something. A phone call. A project. A trip. He couldn't remember. This is the symptom most families miss. Apathy is not depression. Walter wasn't sad. He wasn't hopeless. He just didn't care enough to start anything. Apathy is one of the earliest and most reliable signs of neurodegeneration. It often shows up before memory loss is obvious. And it gets dismissed as personality, aging, or laziness for years. Here's what apathy really looks like: Stops initiating activities they used to enjoy Drops out of social commitments without explanation Sits for hours doing nothing in particular Doesn't respond emotionally to good or bad news Lets hobbies, projects, and friendships quietly fade If you are watching this happen to someone you love, do not let a doctor write it off as normal aging. It might be. But it might not be. Walter had early Alzheimer's disease. We caught it years before it would have been obvious to anyone but his wife. Treatment helped. Planning helped more. His wife told me later: "I thought I was overreacting. I'm so glad I didn't listen to that voice." 📌 Follow me (Reza Hosseini Ghomi, MD, MSE) for the symptoms most doctors miss 💬 Comment below to share what you've noticed

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If you could talk to your past self, what would you say? What would you tell the you that was brand new at the thing you're very seasoned at now? What would you say to the you who was so worried about the thing that turned out fine? What would you tell the you who didn't see the challenge that was on the way? If you're anything like me, you'd tell all 3 of those versions of yourself something like this: You can do it. It's going to be fine. It'll be hard, but you'll be just fine. I'm so proud of you. And no matter what happens, I will love you. And while we can't go back and tell our past selves this, we CAN tell our current selves because of course it applies to us now as well. You can do it. It's going to be fine. It'll be hard, but you'll be just fine. I'm so proud of you. And, no matter what happens, I will love you. Promise. Have a beautiful week! I love you all, Jocelyn