The spread of dementia ever widens. I think of four close friends – two in California and two in Oregon just now suffering
from acute memory loss. I especially think of the journey of their caregivers
and others right now witnessing the steady brain decline of their loved ones. I
so understand what those losing memory and those caring for them are going
through. It can be a sad, lonely journey even when support is offered.
Ultimately, it’s the moment-to-moment care that becomes intense and sometimes
unbearable in the sadness it holds. If this any consolation, know you’re never
alone in whatever you may be experiencing. Find moments where you may pause,
breathe deeply, and reconnect with what’s at hand, your breath, or the feel of
your patient’s touch, something just then to remind you that all is not lost.
That however easy or difficult – the moment with a close friend, a loved one,
can never be repeated. In “Wife, Just Let Go,” I’ve tried to share these
thoughts and moments when we tend to be so focused in having things to do that
we forget the presence of those we need to do those things for, and thus forget
to tell them words they never tire of hearing, words that heal: simply, “you’re
loved.”
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| Robert Briggs on an excursion with Ted Bagley (photo by Ted Bagley 2015) |
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| Autumn 2015 (photo by Ted Bagley) |
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