Folks often ask me why we take my husband Bob out of his memory care center on trips to Wal-Mart or Home Depot or to the Airplane Museum since he doesn't remember going there and it is sometimes a hassle. This article quoted from the New York Times Well section today demonstrates my point.
"The prevailing view of people with Alzheimer’s is often a depressing one: the patient slumped in a chair or parked in front of a television set. But a new book and photo exhibition this month in New York show another side of the disease, one in which people with dementia can still be engaged, lead active lives and experience love and joy.
The book, “Love, Loss and Laughter: Seeing Alzheimer’s Differently,” was written by Cathy Greenblat, a professor emerita of sociology at Rutgers University who found a second career as a photographer. The exhibition has toured the world and is currently on display at the Michael Schimmel Center for the Arts at Pace University in Manhattan.
“I wanted to show what many people don’t know about Alzheimer’s,” Ms. Greenblat said, “that there are ways we can take care of people that build on their remaining capacities instead of just protecting them from danger.”
“These photos are meant to challenge the way we think about Alzheimer’s,” said Ms. Greenblat, whose project was inspired in part by personal experience. Both of her maternal grandparents developed Alzheimer’s in their later years, as did her mother. “People look at some of these photos and say, ‘Oh, this person can’t have Alzheimer’s.’ But they don’t realize that they have a range of emotions. People don’t imagine that someone with Alzheimer’s can be smiling or happy and having a good time.”
In Wal-Mart last week Bob enjoyed looking in the different mirrors with me; he smiled, recognizing us both together. Yesterday we colored, built with blocks and went out for ice cream sodas. Today we are going to the dentist. I have to think up something to do afterward.
