Life after Alzheimers

Posted by: Cindy ODonnell Tagged in: Untagged 

Cindy ODonnell

It has almost been 3 months since you left us.  Your smile, your laugh, and that twinkle in your eyes.  During the last couple of years you may not have been able to verbalize with us what you were feeling but you always showed that you loved us.  When we entered the final days and the medication was gone it surprised us at how well you could communicate with us.  When we spoke to you and talked about good times we had shared you would squeeze our hand, reach up to give a kiss, and in some moments even speak coherently, which was miraculous.  Even in your last day you spared us seeing you cross over but you did let us know.  (Dad had held a small glass angel in his hand which would light up, this was one of the last objects he held.  We took this angel home with us when we left the nursing home for dinner.  As I was explaining to my children the importance of the glass angel and trying to show them how it worked the light would not flicker.  The phone rang and we received the call that Dad had passed, so we returned back to the nursing home. Later that night when we came home I went to the glass angel and miraculously the light worked.  I took this as a sign that you crossed over peacefully and you were letting us know.)  Since then we have experienced your presence with this angel and it brings a smile and happiness to us knowing you are near. 
I miss you soooo much, words cannot describe.  I speak and advocate daily for this disease, and I know you would be proud. 
We are now heading into the next chapter of our lifes, with 3 parents gone and one remaining (who by the way has a mental illness and has been diagnosed with a couple of  different forms of dementia due to his lifestyle, this is a whole other story that I will write later), we find that the losses we have had, have created huge voids and time on our hands.  We now focus our time on our children, our marriage and in helping others.  

I can only hope that one day they find a cure for dementia.

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Barbara Dylla
14-Feb-2012
Votes: +0

...

Cindy, that's what scares me sometimes, knowing that when one or the other parent is gone, there will be this huge void. I know of someone who needed one year to "fill" the void her father left. Added to that is missing the physical presence of the person. I also pray that a discovery will be made to slow down this disease. A cure would be a miracle!

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