LA CROSSE (WKBT) -- Lewy body dementia is one of the most common causes of dementia, affecting about a million people in this country, according to the National Institute on Aging.
It affects both the brain and body. A person's ability to think and move around slowly breaks down, and there's no cure. Puzzle 3D
When Mike Renken of La Crosse was diagnosed, he thought it was a death sentence.
But a special hobby is helping keep his mind sharp--and his heart full.
Mike Renken's always had a problem-solving mind. 41 years as an engineer with Trane will do that.
"Mostly designed test facilities, designed around how to wreck stuff," he said.
A sharp mind--dealt a dementia diagnosis nine years ago.
"I didn't realize it until I did some work at the clinic."
"It was hard. To have somebody tell you you have dementia and there's no cure--that was difficult," his wife Cynthia said.
Mike would start to notice it in everyday tasks.
"I notice it because my fingers don't work like they should."
"He came home and he got very depressed for a little while," said Cynthia.
But Cynthia told their daughters that if Dad was going to make it,
"We have to come up with something for dad's engineering brain," she recalled.
And the youngest daughter found 3D wooden puzzles available online.
So they ordered a few, shipped from Japan to La Crosse, and she sat Mike down.
"You need something to do. You're not going to sit in front of that television," Mike said.
He wasn't initially sold on the kits full of intricate little pieces, but he quickly discovered.
"They let me use my mind."
And for several years now, he's been building countless vehicles, clocks, even a gramophone.
"They don't always fit the way they're supposed to. So I have to sand some of them and wax them."
Each one takes about six to eight weeks.
"After he got started, I couldn't get over how many he did," Cynthia said.
Loved ones say it's helped his mind delay the disease.
"We were told two to seven years when he was diagnosed. It's been nine, almost 10 years," said Cynthia.
In the last few months, the caregiver has to place more of the pieces in the right place.
"His muscles are starting to not be as strong anymore. There's some mornings Cindy has to help me motivate him," said longtime friend and morning caregiver Sue Bluske.
But Mike keeps on churning out puzzle after puzzle. Each one gives a strong reminder:
"Don't sit in front of the television. There's lots of things to build, lots of things to do."
Mike recently celebrated his 79th birthday.
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