Is Derek Shepherd really Dr. Jeffrey Kaye?

One of the ways Paul and I learned to keep his mind active is to watch television series on Netflix. Funny as that might sound, series require Paul to keep up with story lines. Whereas he previously might have been bored with "Chic Flix" series, he has learned these types of shows are easier for him to follow. He likes dramas and comedies and does better with hour-long series than 1/2 hour sitcoms.

We also learned quickly to attend to the number of seasons available. He finds it discomforting if a series ends in a few seasons because he gets invested and feels unsettled when the show suddenly ends. He also prefers shows with many seasons because the longer he can watch the more likely he is to remember each character. Further, he hates looking for shows and trying new shows because they cause confusion. We get lots of suggestions.

Since his diagnosis, we have watched Bones, Castle, Dexter, Glades, House of Cards, and, just to throw you off pattern, Trailer Park Boys. When Edward Hermann died recently, we devoted months to re-watching all the Gilmore Girls seasons and I was surprised both by what he could remember and what he did not. We watched that series as our daughter was going through high school as an evening, dinner prep kind of activity. He has some wonderful memories of Shelby, but did not recall the show's plot or story lines well.

After some fits and starts recently, he settled in on Grey's Anatomy, which I am also enjoying. In Season 7, the brilliant neurologist from Seattle Grace Mercy Hospital, Dr. Derek Shepherd, begins a clinical trial for a new Alzheimer's protocol. Watching Paul watch these episodes is hard. He talks to the characters a lot. He expresses his own hopelessness with comments about how they cannot stop this disease and certainly cannot reverse the effects.

As I observe and enjoy the show as well - seeing the passion this character has for those with AD, it suddently dawned on me that Paul's doctor might be the actual Dr. Derek Shepherd. Dr. Jeffrey Kaye is leading neurologist and AD researcher at Oregon Health Sciences University. He has been instrumental in Paul's diagnosis and treatment. He would likely deny any similarity between himself and this fictional neurosurgeon, but Paul and I see his passion and advocacy for those with dementia-related illness and were excited to know a (if not the) real life Derek Shepherd!