DEMENTIA.DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT

This week I had a few old man's health problems causing some difficulties. Fortunately, with prayer, meditation and a good doctor I was able to sort things out and I reckon that I,m good for another decade. Whilst reflecting on my overall situation came the realization that we dementia people can easily become rather too focused on dementia and possible subsequent Alzheimer's, wheras there is every possibility that something else will kill us before the dreaded Alzheimer's.Even if dementia eventually overtakes us in the early stages, with organization and a positive and optomistic outlook one can live quite happily and contentedly. If we survive with advanced dementia, most of the time we won't be aware of it, so there is little point in worrying. Advanced Alzheimer's is a dreaded prospect, but if we survive that long we will be totaly unaware of what's going on.So the thing is to be happy.Most of my life I thought that happiness was something that came upon one unexpectedly, if you were lucky. However, I've discovered that happiness is something that we can find within oneself. Every day brings a blessing of some kind, even if it's only that you survived another day. Not such a good week for writing, although I did manage to write two more poems for my new book. We have had a wonderful winter with some incredible summer type days. Yesterday however the normal season returned with torrential rain and a big drop in temperature. Bobby the parrot particularly dislikes it, but so do the three dogs who don't get taken for walks much when it's raining. One sad thing on the week was that I rescued a little Maltese type dog frombeing run over. When I had picked him up I realised that he was blind. I felt very sorry for the little mut, but if I had taken it home the other three may well have bullied him, so I took him to Wellington Animal Rescue, knowing that they have a policy of keeping dogs for three weeks and then look for a new owner. About a week later I saw an advertisement in the local shop with a picture of the dog. I rand Animal Rescue, only to be told that on the Vet's advice the poor dog had been put down because of his blindness. They told me that the owners had in fact come in just to see if someone had handed in their dog.This was only three days after I had taken him in. How devastated they must have been! David Barnato. Paarl. South Africa.