Artist, Filmmaker, Wife, Mother, Fulbright Scholar, and Daughter of Holocaust survivors, Minna Packer was getting disoriented and anxious when the doctors (and she) thought she was living with too much stress. Initially diagnosed with diminished blood flow to the temporal parietal lobes, extensive neuropsychological testing showed decline in processing information and speed of functioning. She ultimately received the diagnosis of younger-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
Minna came to my attention after she wrote about the connection between dementia and PTSD, resulting from being a child of Holocaust survivors. (I am a child of Armenian Genocide survivors and after reading Minna’s blog, I gained heightened awareness of parts of my own upbringing.)
She details her reactions to living with Alzheimer’s in her blog, providing insights for caregivers and people with dementia. The progressive disease has affected the fluidity of her speech. Yet, she writes, “Even if I have to push words out, I am not all talked out!” Fortunately, her words help us learn more about how this disease affects people. She researches voraciously (for our benefit). She also expresses the challenge her husband has caring for her while he works full time. She does not want to live in a nursing home.
We talked again, after the 60 Minutes airing of Mike and Carol Daly living with Alzheimer’s. Viewing this made Minna afraid for her own future.
[TCV Update 8/3/2018: Minna Packer reached out to us recently requesting that we remove the video interview with her in April. She wants to preserve her legacy as a film maker and producer and not feel embarrassed about this interview while she lives with dementia. While we regret to remove her voice from our VOICES with Dementia column – after all, each voice raises awareness and moves us one step closer to reducing the stigma of dementia – we honored Minna’s recent request.]
You are still able to access her articles and view her pictures of her day-to-day activities, while living with Alzheimer’s at https://SuddenlyMad.com
