[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:00.91,0:00:02.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'd like to talk about my dad.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:02.50,0:00:05.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My dad has Alzheimer's disease.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.08,0:00:08.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He started showing the symptoms about 12 years ago,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:08.64,0:00:12.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he was officially diagnosed in 2005.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:12.02,0:00:16.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Now he's really pretty sick. He needs help eating,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:16.35,0:00:20.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he needs help getting dressed, he doesn't really know where he is
Dialogue: 0,0:00:20.24,0:00:24.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or when it is, and it's been really, really hard.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:24.10,0:00:27.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My dad was my hero and my mentor for most of my life,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:27.61,0:00:31.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I've spent the last decade watching him disappear.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:31.14,0:00:39.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My dad's not alone. There's about 35 million people globally living with some kind of dementia,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:39.28,0:00:43.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and by 2030 they're expecting that to double to 70 million.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:43.93,0:00:46.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's a lot of people.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.08,0:00:52.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Dementia scares us. The confused faces and shaky hands of people who have dementia,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:52.69,0:00:56.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the big numbers of people who get it, they frighten us.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.54,0:01:00.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And because of that fear, we tend to do one of two things:
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.28,0:01:05.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We go into denial: "It's not me, it has nothing to do with me, it's never going to happen to me."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:05.74,0:01:09.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Or, we decide that we're going to prevent dementia,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:09.37,0:01:14.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it will never happen to us because we're going to do everything right and it won't come and get us.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.19,0:01:19.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm looking for a third way: I'm preparing to get Alzheimer's disease.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:19.94,0:01:25.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Prevention is good, and I'm doing the things that you can do to prevent Alzheimer's.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.50,0:01:30.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm eating right, I'm exercising every day, I'm keeping my mind active,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.82,0:01:33.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that's what the research says you should do.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:33.72,0:01:38.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the research also shows that there's nothing that will 100 percent protect you.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:38.21,0:01:41.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If the monster wants you, the monster's gonna get you.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.72,0:01:44.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's what happened with my dad.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.16,0:01:50.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My dad was a bilingual college professor. His hobbies were chess, bridge and writing op-eds.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.01,0:01:53.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.02,0:01:56.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He got dementia anyway.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.14,0:01:58.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If the monster wants you, the monster's gonna get you.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.57,0:02:04.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Especially if you're me, 'cause Alzheimer's tends to run in families.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:04.33,0:02:08.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I'm preparing to get Alzheimer's disease.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:08.08,0:02:10.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Based on what I've learned from taking care of my father,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:10.04,0:02:15.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and researching what it's like to live with dementia, I'm focusing on three things in my preparation:
Dialogue: 0,0:02:15.28,0:02:21.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm changing what I do for fun, I'm working to build my physical strength,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:21.28,0:02:28.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and -- this is the hard one -- I'm trying to become a better person.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:28.08,0:02:33.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Let's start with the hobbies. When you get dementia, it gets harder and harder to enjoy yourself.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:33.76,0:02:37.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can't sit and have long talks with your old friends, because you don't know who they are.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:37.90,0:02:42.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's confusing to watch television, and often very frightening.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.19,0:02:44.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And reading is just about impossible.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.81,0:02:48.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you care for someone with dementia, and you get training,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.27,0:02:53.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they train you to engage them in activities that are familiar, hands-on, open-ended.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:53.77,0:02:58.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,With my dad, that turned out to be letting him fill out forms.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:58.28,0:03:03.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He was a college professor at a state school; he knows what paperwork looks like.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.79,0:03:08.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He'll sign his name on every line, he'll check all the boxes,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:08.44,0:03:10.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he'll put numbers in where he thinks there should be numbers.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.82,0:03:14.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But it got me thinking, what would my caregivers do with me?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:14.81,0:03:20.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm my father's daughter. I read, I write, I think about global health a lot.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:20.31,0:03:24.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Would they give me academic journals so I could scribble in the margins?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.56,0:03:27.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Would they give me charts and graphs that I could color?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.67,0:03:31.87,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I've been trying to learn to do things that are hands-on.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:31.87,0:03:37.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've always liked to draw, so I'm doing it more even though I'm really very bad at it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.17,0:03:42.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I am learning some basic origami. I can make a really great box.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:42.80,0:03:44.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Laughter)
Dialogue: 0,0:03:44.94,0:03:52.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I'm teaching myself to knit, which so far I can knit a blob.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.02,0:03:56.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, you know, it doesn't matter if I'm actually good at it. What matters is that my hands know how to do it.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.67,0:04:00.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Because the more things that are familiar, the more things my hands know how to do,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.16,0:04:05.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the more things that I can be happy and busy doing when my brain's not running the show anymore.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.15,0:04:09.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They say that people who are engaged in activities are happier,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:09.76,0:04:14.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,easier for their caregivers to look after, and it may even slow the progress of the disease.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.65,0:04:17.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That all seems like win to me.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.16,0:04:20.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to be as happy as I can for as long as I can.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:20.19,0:04:24.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A lot of people don't know that Alzheimer's actually has physical symptoms,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.71,0:04:28.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as well as cognitive symptoms. You lose your sense of balance,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.98,0:04:34.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you get muscle tremors, and that tends to lead people to being less and less mobile.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:34.54,0:04:37.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They get scared to walk around. They get scared to move.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.12,0:04:40.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I'm doing activities that will build my sense of balance.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.56,0:04:45.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm doing yoga and tai chi to improve my balance, so that when I start to lose it,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:45.22,0:04:47.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'll still be able to be mobile.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.21,0:04:51.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'm doing weight-bearing exercise, so that I have the muscle strength
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.15,0:04:55.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so that when I start to wither, I have more time that I can still move around.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:55.28,0:05:00.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Finally, the third thing. I'm trying to become a better person.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.88,0:05:05.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My dad was kind and loving before he had Alzheimer's, and he's kind and loving now.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.65,0:05:10.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've seen him lose his intellect, his sense of humor, his language skills,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:10.53,0:05:15.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I've also seen this: He loves me, he loves my sons,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:15.01,0:05:18.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he loves my brother and my mom and his caregivers.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:18.72,0:05:23.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And that love makes us want to be around him, even now.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.42,0:05:24.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,even when it's so hard.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.81,0:05:28.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When you take away everything that he ever learned in this world,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:28.11,0:05:30.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,his naked heart still shines.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:30.40,0:05:34.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was never as kind as my dad, and I was never as loving.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.32,0:05:37.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And what I need now is to learn to be like that.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.36,0:05:42.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I need a heart so pure that if it's stripped bare by dementia, it will survive.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:42.84,0:05:45.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't want to get Alzheimer's disease.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.36,0:05:49.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What I want is a cure in the next 20 years, soon enough to protect me.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.22,0:05:52.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But if it comes for me, I'm going to be ready.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.67,0:05:54.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:54.42,0:06:03.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,(Applause)