Remembering our Fathers

[ABSTRACT]

Jonathan Kozol wrote a reflection about his father in Saturday’s Boston Globe that is well worth the read. He describes the steady losses that Alzheimer’s disease took on his father, a renowned neuropsychiatrist. Any of us who have watched a parent decline with a dementing disease will identify with his account.

Kozol, however, talks about more than the loss. He tells how he was able to communicate with his father long after his words failed him, and how the essence of his father remained intact. Kozol remains buoyed by how his father still seemed to enjoy his life even as his abilities faded. There are, I believe, many of us who share Kozol’s experience.

When my father received a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s, I studied websites and books, trying to learn more and prepare for what was ahead. I learned about the 5, 6 or 7 stages of Alzheimer’s disease, depending on the expert. I braced myself for changes in personality, violent outbursts, and the day my father would not know me. Those changes never happened.

For the full post and link to the Globe article visit: http://whiteoakcottages.com/remembering-our-fathers/