As some of you know, Mim has Alzheimer’s Disease. She was diagnosed in 2010. The progression of her disease was slow at first but it eventually started snowballing. One of her passions, cooking, became a thing of the past. I now have to explain to her how to prep Brussels sprouts, chop an onion, or she forgets what the name for pineapple is. Friends she hasn’t seen in a while become familiar only after she’s told who they are. Even her favorite beloved dogs have become distant memories if not forgotten memories.

Western medicine has zero answers. Their words of advice, ”here are some drugs now go take care of your affairs”.   She did (does) take the drugs Aricept and Namenda, which have done little if anything to improve her memory/cognition. As time went by, her memory worsened, spiraling downward more and more rapidly. This was about 5 years ago.

Feeling desperate and not knowing where to turn for help, I came across the work of Dr. Dale Bredesen at the Buck Institute right across the bridge in Marin County. (www.buckinstitute.org).

The Buck is a biomedical institute that researches aging and age-related diseases. Dr. Bredesen, (www.apollohealth.com/dr-bredesen) is a Neuroscientist, an MD, a professor at UCLA School of medicine and has done over 30 years of Alzheimer’s research. He developed a program, called the Bredesen Protocol, which provides a personalized program designed to improve cognition and support the reversal of cognitive decline. Mim has been seeing an MD who was personally trained by Dr. Bredesen.

The program involves a very strict diet consisting of organic vegetables, organic meat, wild salmon, berries, nuts and seeds, avocados, lots of leafy greens and tons of organic olive oil.   No sugar or sugary fruit, very low carbs, no dairy, no gluten. The fun sweet treats are long gone but Mim has stuck with this diet.

Alzheimer’s is the 3^rd leading cause of death in the US. What causes Alzheimer’s?   There is no single cause but rather many causes. In Mim’s case insulin resistance, toxic chemicals (pesticides and perchlorates in particular), inflammation and genetics are some of the causes being addressed by her doctor.

The Good News is that this program is working for Mim - others and I see the positive change. This is not a cure but it has improved Mim’s quality of life and plateaued her downward spiral.

The Bad News is that with all the testing, doctor visits, supplements (22 of them daily), the prescriptions (2), medical procedures (Intravenous Glutathione), etc. are very expensive and are NOT covered by insurance - it is all out of pocket.   These are the biggest expenses along with all organic food:

Supplements $350-500 per month

Dr Visits $500 per hour 3 times per year for 2-3 hours

Extensive Lab tests 3 times per year $500-800 each grouping

Intravenous Glutathione therapy $300 per week for 10 week stretches (pulls toxins out of the body)

Compounded Prescription Bio-Identical hormones $330 every 3 months

Other must buy items are reverse osmosis water, saunas to sweat out toxins, BrainHQ online memory program, ketosis testing kit and strips, blood glucose kit and testing strips, etc, etc.

Mim can no longer continue with this program unless she receives financial help. She wants to continue because she feels better and has told me often that this program saved her life.

I truly believe Dr Bredesen’s program has not only saved Mim’s life, it has kept her out of a nursing home. There is a tremendous amount of research being done so there is a constant flow of new life saving information and techniques that we would like to take advantage of. But it is all very expensive.   She will need to be part of this program the rest of her life.

I am the sole caregiver for Mim, and her illness has been not only financially exhausting but the stress and worry have been emotionally and mentally exhausting as well.   I need your help because I can’t continue to do this alone. This has been without a doubt the most difficult job of my life.