The quote below comes from part of a post by Internet Monk.
Went to the post office this morning (I love Saturday mail. Please don’t cancel it) and there was an old friend sitting in his car. His wife was in the PO. Big, strong strapping man. Incredible physical shape for a man in his late 70’s. Two years ago he was sharp as a tack. Used to be the main guy in our Friday night high school football trips. Now he doesn’t know me. My name is gone. Recognizes my face. Stutters. Can hardly talk. Asks if I want to go to a football game. I tell him I’m too busy. I ask how he’s doing. He says the state police pulled him over. Probably happened months ago. Alzheimers has ravaged him. He’s a different man. Just a few drops of rationality and memory in a desert of the mind. His wife comes out and looks at me. Her pained face says it all. Taking care of man like this may be one of the most difficult things in marriage, but she’s apparently going to do it as long as she can. I never knew a sweeter, more generous man. Really was enjoying his retirement. That sweetness seems to be left, but for how long? Alzheimer’s is death by torture for everyone involved.
We’re all dying and we’re all going to care for the dying. Do you notice? Some people are going through a world of death, one day at a time, and all alone.
Anyone who is a pastor, particularly in a retirement area, has had to deal with the hurting relatives of those who have Alzheimers. And, you may have even watched one of your members start to drop into that deep well. We have one such person in our congregation. Just two years ago she was simply elderly but hale. Now her body is hale, but her mind is slowly fading away. I am not sure how much of it she notices, and she is always happy. In fact, often Alzheimers hits the surrounding family very hard. The person entering into Alzheimers will also hurt, but as the disease begins to do its deed, the person with Alzheimers may notice less and less that they have it. Meantime the family is noticing more and more.
Do you know the warning signs of Alzheimers?
Memory loss that disrupts daily life is not a typical part of aging. It may be a symptom of Alzheimer’s, a fatal brain disease that causes a slow decline in memory, thinking and reasoning skills. Every individual may experience one or more of these signs in different degrees. If you notice any of them, please see a doctor.
My aunt has had Alzheimer’s since 1996. It has been a slow and grinding road for everyone. The disease turned nasty around 1999 and the toll it took on me has taken 6 years to recover from. I am no longer her primary caregiver at her request (thus the term ‘nasty’), but by the influence of a man not married nor related to her. Thank God my brother and his wife are the p.o.a.’s now and his wife, May God Bless Her Abundantly, does the lion’s share of caregiving.
Very sadly my aunt knows none of us any longer. Not even her sister. She does not recognize herself in photos from the past. Yet her body remains hale and hearty at the ripe age of 92.
This disease is horrible. And that word is kind.
May God strengthen and guide you as you minister to your parishioner and the family.
Father, or iMonk, Your comments here don't tell me that you really understand what it is like suffer from such terrible illnesses of the brain. With much respect and way too much experience, Deborah Matherne
Nope, I do not. I have only seen it from a distance. But, I can certainly put up the warning signs as a public service. There are many diseases that I pray I will never get to know personally, but I need to be aware of them.
Nope, I do not. I have only seen it from a distance. But, I can certainly put up the warning signs as a public service. There are many diseases that I pray I will never get to know personally, but I need to be aware of them.