Expert: Paula Damgaard - 5/17/2006

Question
My father had a GI bleed that took him to the edge of death.  He was on a ventilator for 10 days.  After the medication to keep him asleep was stopped, he still did not regain consciousness for 4 days.  He later developed pneumonia, a collapsed lung, and MRSA.  During his recovery ,(approx. 8 weeks), he was kept restrained, because he kept falling out of bed, and pulling out his iv's and feeding tube.  Since his recovery from the illness, he has been suffering from short term memory loss.  Before the sudden illness he was in good physical health, and only showed signs of forgetfullness when agitated or extremely tired.  He is now in a nursing home and is placed on the Alzheimers ward.  I thought that AD was a slower developing disease than a mere 2 1/2 months.  Can you think of any other explanation for his short term memory loss?

Answer
Margaret, you are right Alzheimer's disease is a slow developing disease.  However, you say that he was having trouble with short term memory before his illness, I suspect that the disease may have been beginning, and that the disease exaserbated it.  This is seen very often in people whose body becomes so compromised.  

He may regain more of himself as he continues to heal, but it depends on how much his brain was affected with all the medications and anesthia from his hospitalization.  Let's hope for more recovery.  

In the meantime, I would suggest that you learn as much as you can about the disease.  Visit your local Alzheimer's Association and see what they have to offer.  And I would find a physician who specializes in AD and have him worked up to see if that is really the cause.  Good luck.  Let me know if I can answer anything else.  Paula