Brain Atrophy and Me

My mom recently found some medical records of an MRI I had at 13 yrs old. They've been packed away and for reasons she can't figure out, she never read the results until she found them this year. (I'll be 31 in November!) Once she found them, she debated for months over whether to tell me.

I found out a week ago that I have brain atrophy. Cortical (around) and central (inside). In my research, I've found that the atrophy leads to dementia, Alzheimer's, and loss of brain cells.

I'm really kind of freaked about it. I have trouble retaining things, and that's been the case for me for a number of years. It's only gotten worse w/ time. All this time I've joked that the kids suck my brain cells out when they nursed. Not so much a joke anymore.

Now I have to find a way to have a follow up w/ a more recent MRI, which I can not afford, and hope that the original MRI is ... wrong... or something.

I don't know if this is hereditary or what, I don't know when I'll get Alzheimer's, I don't know all of the effects of cortical or central atrophy, I only know it's BAD.

If I had known this much earlier in my life (when I was insured) I could have gotten follow-up MRI's and had a clearer picture of my future prognosis.

You know, my parents actually debated whether to tell me. That freaks me out. I'm glad they did because now I can seek ways to get it checked out. Not that I can afford it.