African Americans Are Twice As Likely To Get Alzheimer’s Than Whites
But the majority of research has centered on white people.
Except for death, nothing frightens me more than Alzheimer’s. Perhaps because I view the disease as a slow, horrific death where plaque gnaws away at your memory, your ability to form and tell stories, and ultimately all form of bodily control. I’d rather have any other disease; I’d readily choose to deal with constant pain than to have the whole of me erased.
Before I signed a new client — a university-affiliated organization that centers on Alzheimer’s awareness and education in the African American community — I knew little about the disease. And with the unknown comes fear.
Over the past few years, I’ve panicked over forgetting the names of people I know and love. Often, I experience myoclonus, a form of muscle twitching typically associated with those suffering from early-onset Alzheimer’s. While I’m ridiculously over-educated, the idea of getting an early-detection blood test terrifies me. I’m generally distrustful of condescending doctors who treat me like a small, petulant child. Let’s not talk about the time a doctor gave me a pregnancy test without my consent when I was a twenty-two-year-old virgin, and I only found out about it via my insurance claim form, and say we did.
