subject: Stages of Alzheimers: Losing Family Memories [print this page] One of the most challenging parts of living with, or loving, someone with Alzheimer's Disease, is witnessing the loss of family memories--even the recognition of spouse and children.
There is a video I like, that explains the stages of Alzheimer's. Knowing what to expect won't change all the feelings that you'll have when it happens to someone you love, but it can still help to be somewhat prepared. Also, it can help to understand that changes in things like behavior, personality, and family memories are beyond the control of the individual with the disease. It is not a chosen condition.
What is it about me, you wonder, that explains why I care about this? Well, I have so many conversations and contacts with people interested in family documentary because they see family memories slipping away, and want to do something about it--something pro-active.
While nothing can reverse the loss of family memories for the one afflicted with Alzheimer's, or any other form of dementia, there are things that surviving family members can do now, to ensure that family stories and history will live on, for future generations.
Family is important to me because I too am part of a family. I have witnessed first hand, among many that I know, the role of Alzheimers in family stories. I have questions about and gaps in my known family history; and those gaps leave me feeling incomplete and removed from part of my own story. I want very much for my own children, and someday their children, to know about the real lives of family members that came before them.
This is why I help families gather, collect, and preserve their own cherished stories and memories in family and personal documentary .
Alzheimer's is real, and it does, sadly, "take away." But it can also give back in the form of mindfulness and choice by those whose memories remain vivid. Bearing witness to a loved one's loss of memory sometimes marks a turning point for a family to begin remembering, together. When that happens, it is the first step to creating a living legacy
