Alzheimer in HBO Documentaries Paper Example

Caregivers documentary

Caregivers is an emotional HBO documentary about the lives of five families who are offering support for spouses or even parents diagnosed with Alzheimer disease. The care giver in the movie includes: Chuck, Jackie, Jude, Nacho and Terry. In this context we are going to discuss Chuck and Jude. From the movie, Chuck cared for his ailing mother until she died; this genetic mutation has led to 12 out of the 14 children from Chuck's mother dying from Alzheimer. It is worth noting that Chuck was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in the year 2004. Chuck strengths are evident through the support he receives from his wife. With support from his wife, Chuck is trying to come to terms with the reality, even though he appears physically healthy, he suffers embarrassment at the idea of suffering memory loss. Chuck believes that there is a need to enjoy every moment of this life, irrespective of his health condition. On the other hand, the films show Jude cares for her partner named Daphne, whom they have lived with for 24 years; Daphne was at one point his life a renowned astrophysicist. Eventually, Daphne falls ill and taken to hospital to receive medication. Unlike Chuck, Jude lives in denial despite being motivated by her partner Daphne, in other words he is hopeless, this makes her to live in fear of losing the woman she loves.

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Memory Loss Tapes documentary

Reflection of Joe's comments

Some part of this documentary may be very difficult to watch, Joe's comment shows that he has no hope of living after being diagnosed with AD. In his own words, Joe describes the disease as shaving slice of him; the most emotional part of the film is when Joe talks about committing suicide. Moreover, he says that the AD medication has affected his sexual appetite, and therefore sees no need of living in the world.

How is this extremely personal and ethical comment similar/different to other patient's end-of life wishes as evident in the documentary?

Indeed Joe's personal statements are in one way or the other either differs or show similarity to other patient's end-of life wishes. Like Joe, Yolanda feels that there is no life with AD illness, she can no longer walk and even sit, Yolanda is frightened by the ribbon on her chair, and her caregivers find it challenging to calm her. Furthermore, Joe's wish is similar to Cliff's, cliff after bidding goodbye to his family member feels disillusioned and says he's gone. On the other hand, Josephine, Woody and Fannies wish that they will be able to continue with their normal lives. For instance, Fannie believes that she will be able to drive again.

Would you agree or disagree with his comments if you were in Joe' situation?

I completely disagree with Joe's comments, this is because AD disease or illness can be managed when the patient's is under medication, meaning that Joe can seek the help of family care givers, thus does not need to commit suicide. Moreover, living in this World requires one to be hopeful of living for the future.

Grandpa, Do You Know Who I Am? With Maria Shriver documentary

This documentary offers insight of ways in which young people should understand grandparent's memory loss and essentially appreciate the fact that it is part of life. In this context, we will examine only two lessons, namely: There are no silly questions and it's okay to be afraid. Firstly, I choose the lesson (there are no silly questions) because it gives an insight that honest conversation is needed when addressing the concerns of Alzheimer disease. The second lesson (it is okay to be afraid) was chosen due to the fact that being afraid of AD makes an individual focus on improving his or her personal health. From the analysis of the documentary, the grandchildren who best displayed the above chosen lessons were Shriver, Sarah, Margaret and Liam.

Momentum in Science, parts 1 and 2 documentary:

Reflection of four chapters in this documentary

This Momentum in Science is a two-part film that takes viewers inside the laboratories and hospitals as well as the leading physicians and clinicians. Essentially, the movie shows some of the most significant research done on AD illness. The four important chapters/topics of discussions include: The cardiovascular connection, Beta-Amyloid, Code of starts the disease and the road to Drug recovery.

Why I choose those topics

According to Rosenberg (2009), the public needs to understand the general progress of AD research being conducted by scientists and physicians. The topic of road to recovery gives me an understanding of the challenge ahead for the different population ages as far as the treatment of Alzheimer disease is concerned. Subsequently, cardiovascular connections enable me to know the brain adjustments associated with AD illness. Wisniewski et al (2003), noted that scientists can observe the presence of beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles, in which the previous research involved only autopsy. Lastly, code of starts of the disease topic will assist me in knowing any advances made in pharmaceutical approaches as far as treatment and prevention of Alzheimer's disease is concerned.

References

Rosenberg, F. (2009). The MoMA Alzheimer's Project: Programming and resources for making art accessible to people with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers. Arts & Health, 1 (1), 93-97.

Wisniewski, S. R., Belle, S. H., Coon, D. W., Marcus, S. M., Ory, M. G., Burgio, L. D. & Schulz, R. (2003). The Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH): project design and baseline characteristics. Psychology and aging, 18 (3), 375.