WATERLOO - Alzheimer's is robbing Richard Taylor of his mind, but it doesn't have to take his dignity.

Taylor, a retired psychologist from Houston, was diagnosed with probable Alzheimer's disease five years ago at age 58. The effects have placed an increasing strain on his relationships, as both he and his caretakers struggle to deal with the disease's progression.

"I'm still me dammit, and I want you to treat me like a human being, not like I'm a frail old lady or a diseased old man," he said. "I want you to be able to come up and talk to me just like you talk to anybody else."

Since his diagnosis, Taylor has been writing essays about living with the disease. He compiled them into a new book, "Alzheimer's from the Inside Out." He performed a dramatic reading of it Wednesday night at Allen College, with the help of Tara Thomas, KWWL anchor and reporter, and Joe Surma, a former KWWL reporter who works for Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare.

Taylor urged the audience to organize and raise awareness of Alzheimer's to increase research for a cure and for better ways to care for those who suffer from the disease.

The issue promises to grow in the nation's consciousness as the baby boomer generation ages. Five million Americans live with Alzheimer's today, double the number from 25 years ago. That number is expected to more than double in the next 25 years.

The likelihood of developing Alzheimer's increases with a person's age. Of those at 85 years old, 50 percent live with Alzheimer's disease.

"I want us all to be a force for change in our social policy," he said. "We old folks don't stand up on the table and shout like others. It's not very becoming for us, what if we tripped and fell off?"

Taylor recounted the last five years of his life, from his "purgatory" of not knowing for certain if he had Alzheimer's to the present. Taylor describes himself as in the second act of a three act play, which concludes with his death. In the second act, he can no longer pretend nothing's wrong with him. He forgets his granddaughter's name. He doesn't take care of finances, and he can't drive anymore. Even when he did drive, he increasingly forgot where he parked the car, or if he even parked the car to begin with.

His mind is at times completely lucid; at others he's aware but disconnected; and sometimes he's completely unaware of his surroundings.

"I feel as if I'm sitting in my grandmother's dining room looking at the world through her lace curtains. From time to time a gentle wind blows through the curtains and the patterns through which I see the world change," he said, reading a passage from his book. "As the wind picks up it becomes increasingly frustrating to understand all that is going on around me."

Taylor urged the caretakers in the audience not to linger in the past when interacting with those with Alzheimer's. He said it's important to talk about the present and future because a person with Alzheimer's still has to live with the present and the promise of tomorrow, even if it's at times hazy and far from ideal.

"Use (reminiscence) as a point of contact to treat them like they have a today and a tomorrow," he said.

Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad at (319) 291-1580 or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.