Glen Campbell, a well known public figure with Alzheimer's died yesterday. Despite the fact that I was never really a fan and certainly did not know him, I got very upset. Why? Because I realized that no one has any power over this dreadful disease.
So, after work, I decided to lick my wounds by going to visit Gary. When I arrived at the Memory Unit, he was sitting up, almost straight with his head down but wide awake. The caregivers reported an afternoon of being awake, enjoying the music hour. Most importantly, his atrophy had seemed to subside for awhile and he was sitting straight. It had to be more comfortable.
I held his hand, brushed his hair, stroked his arm and saw a glimmer of a reaction. It was a precious time. I had a meeting and had to leave prematurely. It was awful walking out knowing that such a precious moment was occurring and may not happen again....ever. Duty called and I left. I told him that I would be back tomorrow.....no reaction.
Every day I wonder.....the Hospice employees give me indications that they do not feel his death will be in the next few weeks unless there is some sort of system meltdown. His vitals are stable so the word "months" was used.
Meanwhile, I signed all the paperwork to buy a house. It should close in both our names this week. It is odd that we are homeowners again but living apart. What a cruel trick the universe has played on us.
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