Last April, I was able to go in for a cognitive evaluation. I wanted to know where I am at. I know I have difficulties I did not have years ago, and although people say things are age-related, I am not one of those people. I think if you think about age, and what is "supposed to happen," it will. If age does not matter to you, and you continue life as though you are "young," you will always be younger than you are. I am 43, have maybe a couple of gray hairs, and was carded when entering the casino just a couple of years ago.
At any rate, the cognitive evaluation... I wanted to see what they would say. After two grueling days of simple tasks, I was exhausted. Add this, repeat that, figure out the pattern... As a perpetual student of psychology, I found it all fascinating. A week later, we met with the doc about the results. It turns out, I am not going crazy. It turns out, I am intelligent. It also turns out that I have lost some cognitive function that is considered as directly related to the Multiple Sclerosis.
Multi-tasking is hard for me. I used to be one of the best, but now, not so much. When I am fatigued, concentration and other mental functions fly out the window. I am like a zombie! I'm not sure I look any better, either!
One task I never fully completed in the evaluation was repeating back 12 easy words. I thought it was 20 words, and I never got all of them. I could remember pairs of words, but not single words. They were simple words, too, like "bus" or "tree." It made me think of all the times I walk into a room only to wonder why I am in that room. Sometimes, I figure out that I am not even in the room I had originally set out to enter!
Well, I am still wiped out, after four or five hours of "napping," so I am going away again. More rest for the weary...
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