Alzheimer's Through Tears and Laughter

Today, there is a disease afflicting many people and arousing fear in those whose ages can start as young as forty years, and moving on through the sixties, seventy and eighty year old groups. It is known as Alzheimer's Disease. This book is about sharing this experience with my sister-in-law who came down with this disease in her later years. She was eighty-four at the time and lived to be ninety four years old. I was encouraged to take notes and write about this by a doctor who told me I would be in a position to see its development every day for as long as she remained with me. He said, "Take lots of notes. You will be able to observe so much more than I, because I don't spend that much time with a patient, and you will be with her day and night and observe the changes as they happen and what triggers her behavior. Good Luck!" With that I started out on my ten year trip through the ups and downs, the good days and bad days of Alzheimer's disease. Our days were laced with pain and humor, but I was determined to see it through, laughing a little and crying a lot, hoping the scenery would change, but finally surrendering to this fate that had come upon us. Our mantra became "Let's laugh because if we don't we shall most certainly cry"! I chose to care for her because I wanted her to be surrounded by love, music and laughter, in a place where we could laugh with her and cry with her and never be alone. I'm glad I did.