Sunday, September 09, 2007

THE TWILIGHT OF THEIR LIVES

On a recent weekend I visited a group of seniors in various stages of forgetfulness, some with severe memory loss, others with progressive or advanced Alzheimer's disease.

What was rewarding to me was meeting these wonderful people, all up in years, who are living in the twilight of their lives with little or no memory of their past, no understanding of their present, no concept of a future.

I looked into their eyes. I moved among them, touching, shaking hands, trying to converse with them, listening to the few words or brief sentences they offered in an attempt to communicate with me.

Many live with inner pain and sorrow as they struggle to retain the memories of lost years, their minds being destroyed by a disease that still is not fully understood. A few were aware and alert of the life around them, but the tremble and hesitancy in their voices revealed a diminishing ability to remember their past and to cope with current reality.

As I became briefly acquainted with them, I wanted to know more about their lives, to experience their pain, to share with them past joys and sorrows, their loving moments, their victories and defeats. The laughter and the tears that make up the fabric of their lives. Who among us will someday be among them, living in the lost world of Alzheimers Disease?

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