A Blessing and a Losss

A man I knew died today. He has had Alzheimer's for years. I am glad he is out of his prison. I am sorry for his wife, but understand her relief.

My dad died from complications of Alzheimer's. He had it for ten years. It is a horrible disease. My dad once described it for my brother. He said it was like a curtain coming down. Some days he could peak under the curtain, but he always knew that some day the curtain would close for good.

My dad was a wonderful man. Yes, he had his faults like all of us, but most of those could be traced back to his background. His biggest fault was he was too trusting. Raised in a community where a handshake meant something, he was constantly being taken by business partners. It always seemed to be feast or famine in our home. It didn't matter to me because I knew love, laughter, and goodness, but I know that it was hard on my mother.

My dad never met a stranger. If someone admired something he had, he either managed to get one for them, or gave them his.

My dad managed to come back to life after dying on the operating table at least 3 times in the 70's. He survived colon cancer in the early 80's. e was just beginning to enjoy life and travel with my mom when the Alzheimer's struck. I remember thinking how unfair it was that after all he had been through this was his future. He died in 1998.

I remember someone saying to me when my dad died that I did not seem to be mourning. I told them that I had been mourning for 10 years. Now I was rejoicing that my dad was out from behind the curtain again.

I am glad that Kenneth is out of the prison that Alzheimer's had made for him. I will pray for his wife and that she is able to move on to the next stage of her grief, because I know she has been grieving a long time.

To everyone that is a caretaker of someone with Alzheimer's "Bless you." To those suffering from Alzheimer's - I am sorry. May you have many good years before the curtain closes.