Painter - Writer  ginda simpson  Dreamer of Dreams

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LOVE Endures All Things

A Journey with "AL"zheimers

The journey with Alzheimer’s has taught me much and teaches me still. With pen and paintbrush in hand, I drew this portrait to record an unforgettable and invaluable journey, in the hope that my story could serve and benefit others groping to maintain their balance as they travel on this uncharted path. This little book is how I wish to honor my father, a man of infinite courage and integrity. His was an extraordinary life. I know that he would have wanted me to write this story. As a physician, writer and teacher, he would have wanted this final life journey to illustrate and illuminate for both his family and the medical community at large who must grapple with the mysteries and the magnitude of Alzheimer’s. Indeed, there were times when I could almost feel his hand on my hand as I held my pen.

Mine is not a dissertation on Alzheimer’s from a medical, professional, social or economic point of view. Mine is a daughter’s story. It is simply what I witnessed and felt as I watched Alzheimer’s “steal” into Dad’s world and take bit by bit from the rich storehouse of my father’s mind, eventually disabling his body in the process. What lessons did I learn from this experience?

I learned to cherish the memories of the man that Dad was and to respect and love the man he had become. I learned that no matter how much we may want to do so, we cannot pull an Alzheimer’s patient back into our world. We must hold their hand and enter into their new reality, thus letting them know that they are not alone and this surely must help diminish their fears. When their thoughts are jagged and distorted, we can blanket them in thoughtfulness. When their words no longer make sense or become lost altogether, we can soothe them with the sound of our voice. When they lose sight of the world as they once knew it, we can make sure they see our smiles. When their bodies no longer feel or act as their own, we can comfort them with the familiar and healing warmth of human touch.

I learned that as we add light to the darkness of their confused world, our world becomes illuminated. I learned that by helping in their weakness, we become strong. I learned that as one hand reaches out to the Alzheimer’s sufferer, the other must reach out to those who love and care for them – for theirs is a journey of an ever-shifting reality, fraught with fear and frustration, emotional stress and physical exhaustion. They need to know that they, too, are not alone. We must journey with them, for it truly is a journey worth taking.

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 This softcover copy of my book has been published in Italy and shipped to the U.S.A.  

I am pleased to announce that a hardcover copy is now also available through Blurb.  To preview and order click:

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/2052669/ae6be8a860b07bd196f0907a8d2fb4d18efb41b7

For more information contact

ginda1221@yahoo.com