Another precious moment.

I help Ron off with his jacket. After a two-mile outing. In a wheelchair. With opportunities, too, for Ron to get on his feet For short strolls. On a winding and hilly paved trail. In a heavily-wooded park. Only a quarter-mile up the road from his new five-bed dementia care center called Arthur’s Residence. Anyway, upon our return, it’s time for a celebration. For  Alzheimer’s-riddled Ron. For being stimulated. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. As his jacket comes off, Ron extends his arms outward. Raises them. Up and down. As if directing a symphony orchestra. I grasp Ron’s hands. And together, we go through the motions. Humming a joyful tune. “You are directing an  orchestra,’ I tell Ron. Ron speeds up the momentum.  He’s laughing. He’s happy. He’s going with the flow. Yes, Ron’s environs are permeated with a sense of joy. Of being alive. I call it good vibes therapy. Something that everyone with Alzheimer’s should be blessed with. Twenty-four hours a day. Even when they sleep. A little soft music doesn’t hurt. Perhaps an adagio. From Mozart. Or maybe Beethoven. I’m willing to try anything. To see if it works. In positive ways. Anyway, it wasn’t long ago. In July. That Ron was almost given up for dead. After he broke his neck in a fall. But surgeons fused the fracture together. And now it’s fully healed. Ron has recovered. Almost seems like a miracle. But there are other factors. Not the least being Ron’s new environs. An experimental way to treat those with dementia. Not only Ron, but the other patients. They’re all thriving.  But Ron is the star. He feels at home. Like he’s part of a congenial family. They’re all sitting around the dining room table now. Enjoying lunch. Enjoying their waning days. The way life was meant to be. Not in an institution. But a far more humane good vibes setting.  That genuinely feels like their home sweet home. Where Ron can salvage another precious moment. Directing the orchestra. In the Ode to Joy. –Jim Broede