Even if the memory disappears, love is always there

Alzheimer's disease, commonly known as "Alzheimer's disease", is a bit incomprehensible to us as mental illness. No memory, doing strange things, even a little crazy.

I remember a very memorable advertisement about Alzheimer's disease. There was an old man with Alzheimer's disease who put the dumplings on the table in his pocket when he followed his son to the banquet, and then the son scolded him angrily. In the end, he was very aggrieved and told his son that XX (his son's nickname) liked to eat dumplings, so he wanted to take it home to XX. They will forget a lot of things, but they won't forget to love you.

Although the father's behavior in this advertisement is still incomprehensible and a little crazy, it also shows us that alzheimer's patients actually have their own thinking and logic.

The Oxford General Reader's Alzheimer's Disease is a comprehensive introduction to Alzheimer's disease, and I think the best thing about this book is that Steven Spielberg is the author of the book. R. Sawat presents us with the world of Alzheimer's patients, who, like healthy people, are independent individuals first and then Alzheimer's patients. The most important thing in dealing with Alzheimer's patients is respect, and only by truly respecting them will we listen carefully to their needs and think from their point of view.

Going back to the advertisement that was originally talked about, in the eyes of normal healthy people, the act of putting dumplings in their pockets and hiding them is irrational in isolation. But if we understand the father's logic, we will not feel that his actions are so crazy, but his logic is already different from ours.

A similar case is told in the book, where his wife and eldest son took his lawn mower away, and although he no longer remembers the specific incident, he still remembers the emotional hurt he had suffered and the anger that followed.

Another important aspect of respecting People with Alzheimer's disease is to keep them doing what they can, needed by family and friends, and have a sense of presence and value. Doing everything may save you the caregiver at some point, but from the patient's point of view, doing nothing is not something to be happy about.

I think treating People with Alzheimer's disease is, in a way, similar to how we communicate with our children. We need to be patient, listen to the needs of children/patients, understand their needs from their point of view, follow their logic to understand their behavior, and finally give guidance or help.

Perhaps from this point of view, this degenerative lesion of the brain is a kind of "rejuvenation", we do not lose relatives or friends with Alzheimer's disease at some point, but accompany them to start a different journey in life.

After all, even if the memory disappears, love is always there.