Each person looks at this differently and the way they want to remember that family member.  Some don’t want anything around to recall the Alzheimer’s days.  Others don’t mind because many of these memories, even though perhaps bittersweet, are filled with love.

Possibly, during the very last stages of their life with Alzheimer’s if they look very ill, emanciated, and totally unlike the person you’d like to remember, you won’t want photos.  However, I find the photos of Mother during her Alzheimer’s years memorable, especially those taken with her great grandchildren.

We put together a photo album called, “A Legacy of Love” with Mother and her great grandchildren during visits to the nursing home.  Mostly they were smiling and that often brought smiles to her lips.  One I particularly like a nurse took of Mother and me, laughing as we looked at cards she had received.  Another portrays the four generations…Mother, my daughter, the two grandchildren and me.

Family photos of the various generations at various stages in their lives is part of my family heritage.  I have photos of great great grandparents with children and grandchildren.  Another photo that brings back memories is my grandmother, my aunt, and me.

And Mother, in her Alzheimer’s years, doesn’t look much different from my great grandmothers and my grandmother at the later stages of their lives…and they didn’t have Alzheimer’s.

So think about taking photos…and leaving a legacy of love and memories for future generations.

Post from: Blisstree

Photographing Your Alzheimer’s Family Member…a Legacy of Love and Memories

“Yes, Mother,” I replied, taking out my notebook and pen.  Then we sat for nearly an hour while Mother reminisced and I jotted down notes about her childhood, her teaching years in a one-room schoolhouse, and stories of various relatives.

I realize now that in doing this, listening to the memories of an Alzheimer’s patient, I helped preserve our family legacy.  If Mother hadn’t become afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease, would she and I have taken time to escape into the past?

Don’t get annoyed with your family member because they can’t comprehend the present.  Take advantage of their memories of the past and compile them for future generations, either with pen and paper, a tape recorder, or video camera. You are preserving your family legacy.

Post from: Blisstree

Treasuring Alzheimer’s Patients’ Memories