Alzheimer’s disease

Still Alice-movie

Alzheimer’s disease has been on my mind lately due to a video I watched a few weeks ago. It was about an invention called Jelly Drops. These are pods of colorful and edible water created to help those with dementia stay hydrated. I learned through that video that those with dementia typically no longer feel thirst and forget they need to drink water; however, the colorful drops grasp their attention. Because of this video and my professor’s recommendation, I decided to watch the movie, Still Alice, in hopes of understanding more about dementia.  The fictional movie is about an award-winning linguistic’s professor,  Dr. Alice Howard, finding out she has a very rare form of dementia called early-onset Alzheimer’s.  This form of Alzheimer’s develops before the age of 65  and can have a genetic component. Towards the beginning of the movie, the audience sees how much Alice values her work, education, and family;  later, we see how Alzheimer’s strips her from the things that are most meaningful to her due to memory loss.  It’s heartbreaking. The part that stood out the most was when Alice talks about how she wished she had cancer instead. While her husband asks her not to say such things, she continues to say that people understand cancer and feel compassion towards those who have cancer. While her memory was slipping away, she still was aware of the way people judged her for something she couldn’t control. She was afraid to have dinner with her husband’s coworkers because she knew her memory could fail her and cause the dinner to be uncomfortable. This scene helped me learn that there is a huge need for people to understand the extent of this condition in order to know how to interact and love those around us. 

Not only do I believe that this movie is great at bringing awareness to what those with Alzheimer’s experience, but I also believe this movie is a fairly accurate description of the progression of the disease looks like; I recommend watching it!

**If you are wanting to watch this movie, it is available on Sony Crackle for free (no subscription is needed) Here is the link: https://www.sonycrackle.com/watch/5623/2507842

**If you would also like to learn more about the Jelly Drops, here is a link to a video about it: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXZnTGsWSTk

APA citations: 

Glatzer, R., & Westmoreland, W. (Directors), & Lutzus, L., Brown, J., & Koffler, P.(Producers). 
        (2015). Still Alice[Video file]. Milano: Mondadori. Retrieved July 20, 2019, from  
        https://www.sonycrackle.com/still-alice

In The Know. (2018, August 23). 24-year-old invents brilliant way to help people in their fight against dementia.   
       Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXZnTGsWSTk