Lewy body dementia and its rapid decline

It is often overshadowed by Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, leading to a lot of people being misdiagnosed, hundreds if not thousands of patients. In reality, they're struggling with Lewy Body Dementia, a complicated disease the widow of actor Robin Williams once called the terrorist inside my husband's brain. It's affected more than one million people, including baseball legend Tom Seaver, who died in August. As Brooke explains, this is a battle you could be fighting for years before it's given a If you ask Marilyn Massey, her husband Bob was brilliant, quick-witted and funny, but nothing compared to his smile. A UofL grad who rose to the top in his field as an engineer, a father of three and grandfather to four. Then, in 2011, Bob started having trouble sleeping and was diagnosed with REM sleep disorder. They act out their dreams and they can be very violent and aggressive sometimes. He was given meds, which ultimately worked. But a year later, more symptoms made their appearance. Things would come and go, like the expression in his face and the loss of smell. He developed a slight hand tremor and was tired most of the time. Then, in 2013, things got more serious. He would forget how to use the TV remote, the security system in our house. He forgot how to do that. At the time, they were told he had mild cognitive impairment. Marilyn didn't buy it. There was nothing mild about it. They searched for a second opinion and found Dr. Justin Phillips, who diagnosed him with Lewy body dementia. The condition impacts thinking, memory, behavior and movement and results in a progressive decline in mental function. It's not something that can be made with one encounter with your physician in general. Dementia with Lewy bodies is the second most common type of neurodegenerative dementia after Alzheimer's disease. It affects more people over the age of 60 and more men than women. And while there is no medical treatment to stop the progression, some medications typically used for Parkinson's and Alzheimer's may help. But they can be risky too, sometimes making the same symptoms worse. Regular physical exercise can actually slow down the progression of the disease and that's something we recommend for all of our patients. Bob found a rock steady boxing program in Clarksville, Indiana to help keep up his mobility. Both he and Marilyn also joined support groups. Whenever he forgot how to brush his teeth or when he forgot how to make a sandwich, all of that was part of the grief process. Then a year into his diagnosis, hallucinations began and only got worse over time. And he said, I see wild animals and monsters and they're staring at me and they look like they're ready to pounce. The symptoms would come and go for a couple more years. One day he couldn't stand on his own. Then days later he was dancing at his daughter's wedding. There wasn't a dry eye in the place whenever he danced with her. He went into hospice the next year. He would say that there was a train that came through his room at night and he wasn't sure if he was supposed to get on it. And I said, well, if you decide that you want to get on the train, go on and get on and then I'll catch a later train and meet you. A couple months later, Bob's pain was gone for good. While his diagnosis may have not changed his outcome, his wife says it was better to know what their family was facing and if there was any advice she could give. Do something fun every day and just remember that you have a large support group. In Louisville, Brooke Hash, WHAS 11 News.