Memories

Sorry for the quality, maybe I can fix it later or maybe it is just a reminder of how alzheimer's makes one's memories fade and become unclear like this picture. Anyway this is my grandma and grandpa Leona and Erwin Kohlhoff a few years before Alzheimer's stuck. The beautiful girls are Courtney and Alissa. The celebration is their 59th anniversary.
Today John and I will be walking in the Alzheimer's walk to remember at Mount Mary College. We are walking in memory of my grandma, Leona Kohlhoff who suffered and eventually died from this horrible disease. We are walking on a team sponsored by my college roommate, Joan and her family. They are walking in memory of another Alzheimer's victim, her dad, Harold Baylerian. We are also walking in honor of my Aunt Pearl who is in the beginning stages of this disease right now.
Imagine forgetting the simplest of tasks, things you did everyday for your entire life. Cooking your favorite foods, getting dressed, how to use a phone, and as if that isn't bad enough, imagine forgetting all your memories. To me that is the most tragic part of this disease. Someone can always cook for you or put your shoes on, but those memories are yours alone to keep or share as you choose, now they are gone. Memories are supposed to be a quilt for your old age, they are supposed to comfort you and help you through the golden years. My Uncle Herb says the days are long and lonely because there is no conversation anymore with his wife of 60 years. Can you imagine losing all those precious memories and then eventually forgetting even the people who love you the most?
I remember visiting my grandma in the locked in area of the nursing home and just wishing she could get back into that part of her brain that locks up those memories and pull a few out just for the visit. It never happened. One thing she never forgot though were her German hymns and Bible verses that she learned as a child. On her worst days when she couldn't remember any of us she would repeat those comforting words. God does indeed work in mysterious ways and we won't ever be able to understand his perfect plan. We know she is perfectly fine having the time of her life in heaven and when we see her again, she will recognize us!
So, today we will be walking and remembering. I will fill you in on the walk after it is completed.