I do have one golden memory that stands out during those years
of caring for my mother. After having a major stroke and being
in a coma for a few days, my mother suddenly woke up. She found
herself in the hospital bed in our home, and for some reason her
mind had gone back to the time when she was hospitalized to give
birth to ME!! I came into the room and she asked me who I was –
I told her my name and she said, my, I just named my own
daughter that name!! I looked into my own mother’s eyes and she
was literally glowing with joy and pride!! I knew I had
discovered a secret not many children will EVER have the
opportunity to witness or grasp, that moment of birth when your
own mother is totally in rapturous awe at the thought of YOU
coming into their lives!! At that moment, looking into her
glowing eyes, I knew what I had longed to know my entire life –
That I was truly loved, wanted and desired. My mother loved me!!
It was like having an entire glimpse into a past I could NEVER
enter otherwise, and what I found was great joy and beauty!! I
will never forget the glow of the love my mother carried for me
on my birth…
So, in closing, think about how the Alzheimer patient has experienced a
total altered reality – Their perceptions are altered forever – As the
disease progresses, they lose more active brain cells and retreat further
and further back into their memories, into the lives they once lived. This
is not like a MEMORY to them now – It is an ACTUAL LIVING REALITY!! And
once in a great while, we get the unique privilege of a glimpse inside
their minds, their hearts, their very souls. What we find there is not
chaos or turmoil – Instead we find great joy and love in great abundance
– We find the beauty of the soul!!
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