Greg O’Brien is 60 years old. And he has been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Greg was once an accomplished journalist. He valued his intellect and knowledge more than anything. Therefore, he intends to remain a journalist as long as he can. In pursuit of this goal, he has created a short documentary, called A Place Called Pluto. In sharing his journey, he hopes to leave his family with something. As Greg states, “One day, I won’t return from this dark, icy place, and I want my family and friends to know where I’m at.”
A Place Called Pluto is heartwarming and devastating all at once. It portrays the good days and the bad days of living with early onset Alzheimer’s. He explains that these days, he has little short term memory, and a progression of “blanks”. In this documentary, Greg and his family share their hopes and fears for the future.
Greg is extremely proactive in his approach to dealing with this life-altering disease. He is fully aware that his confusion becomes more severe in the evening. This is a common occurrence in Alzheimer’s and dementia, known a as sundown syndrome. In order to help this, he runs every evening. He says he runs until his legs almost give out to provide more cerebral blood flow to his brain.
To him, relating Alzheimer’s to being on Pluto makes sense. According to Greg, Pluto’s orbit is often chaotic, just as his life with Alzheimer’s feels. In addition, it’s tiny size makes it extremely sensitive to any potential for disruptions in orbit, making it hard to predict changes. This likely rings true to many Alzheimer’s patients. Not knowing what the future holds and what may affect the disease progression can be a bit like living on Pluto.
Greg also published a personal, insightful book called On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer’s. We enjoyed his presentation immensely at our Aging Life Care Association‘s annual conference.