“Oh, How Awful!” – A Comment About Alzheimer’s

When people learn my mom had Alzheimer’s, so often they comment, “Oh, how awful!”  Then if I mention my aunt was afflicted, too, they simply shake their heads and wonder how I survived.  “That’s such a terrible disease,” they conclude.

Alzheimer’s is not what I would have wanted Mother and Auntie to endure if I’d had a choice.  But none of us were given an option.  And once I learned to accept their conditions, I learned, too, to bring them joy.  At least I hope my choices regarding their care were not unpleasant and gave them happiness (as much as they could understand happiness) in their latter years.

Looking back now, several years after their deaths (Auntie in 1993 and Mother in 2001), I remember their smiles when we visited them in nursing homes, the pretty dresses or nighties the nurses dressed them in, someone fixing their hair and even putting on make-up or painting their nails.  Both seemed to adjust to nursing homes and their condition.  Perhaps this was because they were ladies who’d faced many challenges in their lives and learned, when they couldn’t change situations, to look for the best in them.

I use them as examples in my life…and share about them to help others.  In this way, their encounter with Alzheimer’s won’t be in vain, but will leave a legacy that encourages other Alzheimer’s victims and their caregivers.