...a guiding spiritual hand.

I found that when I immersed Jeanne in pleasureable moments, pleasurable activities, one after another, that it seemed to buoy her spirits. Tasting ice cream, for instance. Spoonful after spoonful. Each spoonful tasted so good. Maybe a minute or two later, Jeanne would forget that she had ice cream only moments ago. But when she was having it, she enjoyed it. So maybe in the next moment, I played her music that she likes. And she enjoyed the music for that moment. And soon forgot about it. But then maybe I would comb her hair, and that was still another pleasurable moment. Or I'd massage her feet. Or I'd give her a kiss on the cheek. Or I'd lie down on the bed next to her. Or I'd take her outdoors in the wheelchair. Or I'd give her a warm shower. So, in a single day, Jeanne would experience so many, many pleasurable moments. Not necessarily moments that would be remembered. But moments that would be enjoyed within the framework of the moment. So, in that sense, I was still able to construct a happy life, of sorts, for Jeanne. That's how one makes the best of a bad situation. I think that when a care-giver makes a long, long string of pleasurable moments for someone with Alzheimer's, there's some sort of retention that occurs. One has a sense that one has experienced pleasure for an extended period of time. Even if it's in the unconscious mind. Maybe in what I'd call the spirit. Just an innate feeling that all is well. That's what I tried to do for Jeanne in those last 3 or 4 years. And I think I reached Jeanne then. In a way that's difficult to comprehend. But it was as if god was telling me, showing me, how to do it. I had the feeling that there was a guiding spiritual hand in all of this. --Jim Broede