September 14, 2009
Life Happens.
We are lucky enough to help so many people preserve the memory of their wedding day. Our latest project was a life celebration presentation of former Sgt. Ryan Willin's life. This DVD will be planned during the memorial service for Ryan this evening. Our prayers go out to Tia, their 4 children, Pete and Sandy, and all of Ryan's friends and family.

FTD is short for Frontotemporal Dementia. In the elderly, its numbers pale when compared to Alzheimer’s but in the young and middle aged, it is a near match. From the research we have now we know that for some there is a genetic link. We know of no certain link for Ryan, putting him in the category with 60% of FTD sufferers. It is believed to be caused by a mutant protein, the same mutant protein that causes ALS, better known as Lou Gherig’s Disease. There is no treatment, there is no way to slow or alter the progression and there is no cure. FTD is always fatal.

What are these symptoms? Unlike Alzheimer’s, which first robs memory and only later personality, FTD robs first personality and then memory. Clogged by the mutant protein the brain cells in the frontal and temporal lobes slowly die, taking with them everything that made the person who they were, for it is in the frontal lobe that our personalities our housed, our likes and dislikes, our beliefs and opinions. Long before an FTD patient physically breathes their last their personality disappears.

Some of the behaviors are bizarre. For a complete list of symptoms please check out ftd-picks.org