Day 1 of Alzheimer’s Program: I Doubt It’s Too Late
March 9th, 2009Without memories, we would live in the moment and experience each day as though we were an infant… a blank slate. No one wants to lose those who they love or have loved to anything. Losing them by forgetting they existed is harsher than one can imagine. Many people deal with this daily in the form of a disease called Alzheimer’s.
Today, a group of people in early stages of Alzheimer’s came to the Pulitzer with a program called Let’s Look. As they introduced themselves to the group, I stood and listened to each person recall what they could about their life. I met a file clerk, an attorney, a widow, a grandmother, a parent, a teacher, an architect, and a World War II Veteran.
However, I got to sit down with one man and go in more depth than a general introduction. I learned of his interest in square dancing. He told me he knows nothing about art, but is interested in learning more. We moved on to discuss his Slovakian grandparents and how he lived with them, his parents and his brother in one house. Then he revealed his conservative upbringing. He felt that manner of child raising had caused him to be less social in life.
I asked, “Do you think this group is a good thing because it allows you to be more social?”
He said, “Yes… but sometimes I wonder if it is too late.”
My dear friend has Alzheimer’s. She is so smart but as she loses the connections with the past you can see her dismay. And the dismay is now turning to acceptance. She still has a real love of life and beauty. Perhaps it is too late for who she had been but not too late for her now.
A beacon of light for anyone with the slightest connection to Alzheimer’s disease.
It is important not to close the door because somwhere out there is light.