Dr. Andy Liu, my primary Duke neurologist, told me during our first meeting that the most important activity to help my cognitive abilities is to continually learn new things. He recommended that I read, assemble puzzles, learn new cooking techniques, etc. I told him I wanted to share my Alzheimer’s journey and become an advocate for Alzheimer’s awareness. Dr. Liu encouraged me to move forward.
As I approach the one-year anniversary of my Alzheimer’s diagnosis, my initial symptoms have progressed or worsened, and I am experiencing several new symptoms. One bright spot is that my ability to conduct research, read scientific papers, and write has not declined - in fact, those skills may have improved. The other surprise is my recent interest in artificial intelligence. Recently, I have learned a lot about how artificial intelligence works. As I learned about artificial intelligence, I decided to dust off my video production skills and try my hand at producing artificial intelligence-generated videos.
Steve Jobs described computers as “bicycles for the mind”. For me, artificial intelligence is a bicycle, not a cyclist. I am the cyclist. I never use artificial intelligence for writing. It is a tool that helps my Alzheimer’s mind.
You will notice a significant improvement in today’s video compared to last Friday’s video. I will continue to improve with each new video I produce. This activity involves creative writing, graphic design, working with AI agents, and many other tasks.
I certainly keep my Alzheimer’s brain busy with cognitive activities—two Substack publications, several websites, an online store, and my social media involvement. Not to mention a few new ventures currently percolating. I am actually having fun. Ten months ago, I never thought fun would return to my life.
There is plenty of financial stress, treatment worries, and disease progression concerns in my life; however, I have decided to look at the time I have left differently. Rather than considering the end, I am focusing on the journey. The end will certainly come. I have a lot of living before it arrives, though.
The concept of the videos is the adventures Big Bit has as she takes care of me. I plan for each video to be humorous and informative. The viewer should learn the challenges and struggles faced by an Alzheimer’s patient while enjoying the antics of Big Bit and her feline sisters. Linda will make a few appearances as well.
Please do me a favor. After viewing the video, please vote on whether I should continue producing Big Bit and Greg. There is a tip button below that enables you to drop one US dollar into my tip jar. Every dollar is a vote for me to continue. Comments are also encouraged.
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Great work, Greg. Cute story and I can see the much improved quality.