Alzheimer's, Dad and Me

Here are some pictures from our visit to California to see my parents. Here you see my Dad (I refer to him as Pop). He was diagnosed with advanced Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease in 2005. While my Mom was in the hospital having hip replacement surgery my Dad had a bad accident at home and was unconscious for several days. Through several phone calls I was able to get one of the neighbors to call 911 and have the police break into the house...and find my Dad on the floor of the bathroom unable to respond. He was near death and the hospital had only given him days to live. I flew out immediately. It was during that time when his Parkinson's disease became known to the rest of us- apparently my Dad had known about it for quite some time but was in total denial about it. We found out a week later that he also has Alzheimer's - a disease that robs you of your memories.

So here we are out for a visit and this is my Dad on what we like to refer to as a good day. We had one day in which he did not know any of us and that was the first time that he did not recognize my mom- she was heart broken. She cried and cried and tried to get him to recognize her, it made me sad but I had to pull her away as she was upsetting him even further. It's very sad to see the ones you love being robbed of not only their mobility but of their precious memories. I do what I can to keep my memory alive in my Dad's heart and in his brain...by sending him hand made cards. I make a different one each and every week, I write about what ever it is that I have going on. When Hannah and I came to see him he proudly showed me his growing collection of cards that I have sent to him. He talks so highly of my husband and remembered to put on his B-1 bomber cap so I could take a picture of him wearing it for my husband - and yes Lucien got a kick out of my Dad sporting that hat!
This weekend I am making a layout using the picture of my Pop and Me and I want to write about his having Alzheimer's disease. It's a powerful layout idea for me and I want to make it be something that he would be proud of.