Working with Dementia patients everyday, I find myself wondering ..."will this be me someday?" I sometimes joke that I think Dementia is contagious when I have my own senior moments. But, since the numbers now show that 1 out of 8 Americans over 65 are diagnosed with Dementia - the truth is - it could easily be me someday.
My husband and I celebrated Valentine's Day last night by going to see the movie "The Vow". The basic storyline was based on a true story of a husband and wife that were involved in an accident that left the wife unable to remember her husband or any memories of the times that they had shared. Over the following emotional months, the husband decided to see it as an opportunity for them to fall in love all over again. So, he began taking her on dates - doing the things she used to liked to do. The end of the movie left us hopeful that she would eventually remember him, and they would live happily ever after. But, according to the true story, she never remembered being married to him, but she did fall in love with him all over again, and they now have a family and two beautiful sons. The movie brought thoughts of what it must be like for couples affected by Alzheimer's to my mind. They must feel like strangers at times even though they have shared years of memories.
Should it someday be my destiny to have Alzheimer's, I hope my husband and children remember how much I love music, and animals, books, and cooking when I can no longer remember for myself - and that they try to find ways for me to continuing experiencing these things. For these are the things that make me ..... me. And they are the things they loved about me . . . once upon a time.
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