Thank you for taking a few moments to feel as though you are experiencing a moment in time…
We often do not think about it, let alone hear about it until it strikes home. As with any tragedy, it is sometimes too late even to say goodbye.
This post is more of a reminder, a reality check to bring to light the importance of those silent ailments that often go unnoticed. It is also about learning to let go.
Letting go of anger,
Letting go of resentment,
Letting go of grudges,
Letting go of the hurt,
And most importantly, letting go of the regrets.
Losing anyone is never easy, but losing someone with Dementia or Alzheimer’s does definitely feel like you are losing them twice!
We hope anyone reading this never has to face a loved one who, without a moment’s notice, talks to you as if you were a complete stranger because in their new reality, you are, in fact now a stranger.
From the moment we enter this world through consciousness we embark on our lifelong journey to understand how we fit into our environment by honing in on our primal instincts to make sense of our surroundings.
Through exploration and learning, we observe and make the correlation to the who’s, what’s, why’s, when’s and how’s of our world. We then continue with these building blocks of retaining and building upon this fundamental information and develop our abilities to rationalize, reason and explain all the encounters we face, from the mundane tasks of brushing our teeth, driving to work, to appreciating the means to travel across the globe and witnessing natures extraordinary beauty.
You spend the most of your adult life raising a family, passing on words of wisdom to the next generation, and sharing vital lessons through experiences that only come through the passing of time; things that surely you want your children to know so that through your own experiences, they might be spared a hardship, a heart break or pitfall.
Then, without a moment’s notice, you become forgetful… the years of experience become distant memories, and the very tools you’ve relied upon to make sense of your world no longer function as they did. The same loved ones who you sought out to protect have become strangers to your eyes. Who are these nice people that you are surrounded with and why are they here? What’s wrong with you?
Unfortunately, this scenario plays itself out far too many times and it has impacted our grandmother and father. We would like to raise awareness for Alzheimer’s and Dementia to solve for the how’s, and why’s.
We believe it is important to remove so many stigmas out there that unfortunately shape so many of our lives. Building awareness, speaking, and sharing our experiences are not always easy, maybe even frowned upon or, for some, not the cool thing to do....again, we truly hope it doesn’t take losing a loved one to realize that it is actually okay to express emotions. Easier said than done.
It’s a journey…letting go but letting the memories flourish each day.
Often, those diagnosed with Dementia or Alzheimer’s are unaware of how the illness is creeping into their minds. There are ways to help delay the process, but we need to build awareness to know that.
There are no cures today; however, we need to do more research to help those surrounding us.
By donating to this page, you are helping transform the lives of individuals and families living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
Thank you for visiting our fundraising page to support the Alzheimer Society in memory of our father, who had dementia and our grandmother, who had Alzheimer’s.
Sincerely,
Thank YOU