At first, Dorothy Sorlie thought she was just getting old, though not as gracefully as she'd hoped. Retired from teaching English at a local college, Sorlie, then 74, began losing interest in things she'd enjoyed, including reading and cooking. She couldn't concentrate. Her handwriting changed. The symptoms occurred so gradually that initially she wasn't aware anything was happening.

Things kept getting worse. She started worrying that she might be developing early dementia (痴呆). The physical symptoms progressed too. Most worrisome, she began having trouble walking and started falling. Through it all, her doctors struggled to explain what was happening.

She and her husband, Jim Urness, were desperate for answers; It would take years before they got them. The doctors' diagnoses (诊断), all incorrect, could account for one or two of Sorlie's symptoms but not all of them, and none of the treatments seemed to help.

The couple traveled across the country looking for someone who could tell them what was wrong. However, one possible explanation for her symptoms after another proved incorrect. At last, Sorlie's primary care doctor, Kevin Wergeland found the disease responsible for all her symptoms was a little-known condition called normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). Although her condition was detected at an advanced state, it was treatable.

In fact, NPH is sometimes referred to as "treatable dementia". It is an insidious (潜伏的) and mysterious disorder that can copy many more common problems including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. An estimated 700000 people in the United States have NPH, although ifs believed that fewer than 20 percent of them are correctly diagnosed.

Sorlie is now free of NPH symptoms, and taking advantage of her good health and using her dramatic recovery to inform others about NPH. She gives presentations to local senior centers as a volunteer. "If this awareness can help one person avoid what my husband and I endured, " Sorlie says, "then my efforts are worth it. "

The tech trends in this year's product launches are to improve your quality of life, or to boost up your pride. But the more practical gadgets will improve health and wellness, or life experiences, while still keeping things cool.

Roam Portable Speaker

Size matters, but the new speaker truly denies the limitations of a tiny speaker. The Roam is a lightweight, outdoor-friendly home speaker. Its 10-hour battery life helps it work for you every day, in and out of the home. And its built-in auto-tuning feature will adjust the sound based on where you are. Being dust-and-water-resistant, Roam is likely the coolest adventure-friendly speaker on the market now.

Studio Buds

Cancel all that noise with Studio Buds. Their Active Noise Canceling mode continuously detects and blocks out any unwanted wavelength harmful to your delicate eardrums. Audio-wise, Studio Buds treat your ears to the right amount of loudness. Another bonus comes from their up- to-24-hours of playback and a five-minute fast-fuel charging.

OM 5 Smartphone Gimbal Stabilizer（万向支架）

Selfie-stick is nothing dead when vlogging is spreading out of control. OM 5 is its new portable smart gimbal stabilizer. For starters, it simply does not shake at all and its ActiveTrack 4. 0 formula is able to precisely track moving objects in the frame for a high-resolution focus.

STORIES Smart Glasses

While this is no VR set, the smart glasses bring a lot to the table. They have a camera for re- cording first-person-perspective content in HD, a single-touch pad for controlling music and the camera, and near-ear speakers so you can leave your headphones or smartphone in pocket while answering a call.

Desperate to help his 96-year-old mother to speak her mother tongue again, Keith McDermott made an appeal on social media and was met with a flood of kind responses. The old lady, Ray, was moved to tears after talking on the phone with one of the enthusiastic respondents in Welsh.

Ray moved to America after meeting her husband when she was only 18, hence waving goodbye to her life in Wales. She continued to speak Welsh with her mum- keeping a little bit of home. But she lost her beloved mum four decades ago and hadn't spoken Welsh since.

Despite suffering from short-term memory loss and sometimes not remembering what she has done recently, Ray's childhood memories in Wales remain crystal clear. "She wants to return but I know, given her age, such long-distance travel is out of the question." said Keith, "Once she mentioned ‘I wish I could speak Welsh again but l suppose I never will' It was then that I thought I should make her-wish happen."

So Keith, 70, posted on social media in the New York Welsh area asking for any Welsh speakers that could speak Welsh with his mum. And he was touched, as-well as-a little shocked, to receive over 30 responses within half an hour. Keith thanked everyone and eventually asked Melisa to give his mum a phone call. Speaking with Melisa, her (Ray's) Welsh was a little rusty. A few more Welsh conversations and I think she'd be fluent again," added Keith.

"When you have a parent in their nineties, you-will find you two have something in common: you're both old, So I am very sympathetic to my mother? feelings of loneliness and isolation (孤立). I'm feeling it myself." Keith hopes to set up more Welsh phone conversations for his-mum and Melisa has promised to send Ray some short stories in Welsh to remind her of her life in Wales.