My elder brother is pushing 80 now and is nearly in his dotage. He told me he had suffered from depression ten years ago, and I found he might have had bipolar disorder recently because of his frequent verbal attacks on his close friends, former colleagues, social workers, and even my other brothers, despite being a real gentleman in every aspect that he used to be. 

He is in a state of inertia now, neglecting what is happening beside him or relating to him, such as the pills he should take or the bills he should take care of. Every activity a person would handle without much ado has become a task for him. His separated wife passed away not long ago in Los Angeles, where his two daughters were also there. (He rejected the idea of going to L.A.) So, he is alone in Taiwan without any assistance. I will return to Taiwan next month to see if I can be of any help to him. 

Attached is an anonymous essay I found online, regarding four celebrities afflicted with dementia, an irreversible disease. Dont let this devil near you, guys. Oh my goodness!

轉發：

這四位失智者中之兩位：李鍾桂老師、吳敦義早年皆是頭腦清楚（記性特別好），辯才無礙者。如今陸續淪為失智者，真為他們情何以堪啊！

把握當下，好好過日子

「人生隨緣 知足常樂 」

實在是勉勵我們好好過日子，不單是要知足常樂，

還要心懷感恩。

～～～～～～～～～～～～

1）

我最近分別安排了

蘇起和胡為真

看望過李鍾桂老師。

她因失智症臥病在床數年了。

想當年她任文建會主委，

後又擔任救國團主任，

叱咤風雲數十年，

如今失智嚴重，

不知她尚有絲絲感知否？

2）

前副總統吳敦義

已經開始減少外出行程，

她夫人告訴我說

他先生已經是快由初期末

進入中期前的失智病徵，

很是憂心煩惱。

3）

胡為真的夫人

從數十年前的

高雅端莊到這幾年

也給失智症折磨

進入了中期，

他的先生胡為真

親自照料數年非常辛苦，

現在還在防範病情悪化。

4）

另一位也很照顧我的前輩

林澄枝國民黨副主席，

那更是因失智

已臥病十數年，

她的夫婿謝孟雄董事長

（實踐大學）

說他太太早都不認他是誰了。

～～～～～～～～～～～～

唉！我只提了四位

我認識的長輩，

其實我們周遭

應該還有失智患者。

真的，人生好短，

趁著健康時快樂

享受上蒼給我們的健康，

那是何等的福份啊！

我們要慶幸和感恩啊！

衷心祝福

平安健康快樂！

PS: Memory loss may be a portentous sign of dementia. Attached is my previous writing on a funny but sad joke about a bad memory.

A joke or a true story about 健忘 ? - kkuo0810的部落格 - udn部落格