"What would you do if I sang out of tune..would you stand up and walk out on me?"

It's almost become a broken record.  I sit down with a family to go over funeral arrangements and the following words go like this, "Mom, didn't even know who I was anymore. She hasn't for years."  I'm talking about Alzheimer's. While commonly referred to as the "Old persons disease," trust me, it can be the whole family's disease.  It's a quiet disease, one not given the publicity or urgency to find a cure for probably because well, let's face it, when someone has "lived out their life...well, it's just their time."  I am going to beg to differ.  What do people talk about most at funerals? Besides Jesus, it's the memories of our loved one. "We're really a composite of our life experiences-memory layered upon memory and Alzheimer's steals that away."-Meryl Comer.   The person with Alzheimer's has been robbed of those memories.  It's the hope in heaven that we can only resolve ourselves to think that someone is free finally from the prison of not knowing you were ever let's say the President of the U.S., ex. Ronald Reagan.
We are accustomed to throwing away the "old."  The old is someone's mom, dad, sister, friend, etc. They are someone's Memory! It is not ok to be dismissive about Alzheimer's because well "they're going to die soon anyway." People around them that love them die a little too.  Kids and grandkids go to visit their loved ones only to be unrecognized by the hands that used to rock them to sleep.  That could be any one of us. The following is from the  http://www.alzfdn.org/ website:

It is estimated that about a half million Americans younger than age 65 have some form of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. (This is referred to as young onset or early onset.)

It is estimated that one to four family members act as caregivers for each individual with Alzheimer's disease

This has been something that has been on my heart. Worth a share...worth awareness. Let's not forget about Alzheimer's.

I'm reminded of a Joe Cocker song:

What Would You Do If I Sang Out Of Tune
Would You Stand Up And Walk Out On Me
Lend Me Your Ears And I'll Sing You A Song
I Will Try Not To Sing Out Of Key
Said I'm gonna make it with my friends, I will
(try with a little help from my friends)

Pray for a caregiver of a loved one with Alzheimer's today...pamper them with a little something, a gift card to a restaurant, a pedicure...a nice card, even flowers.  Better yet, take them to lunch and just listen even if it's not about what they are going through.  Sometimes, a breath of fresh air just to get out and feel normal and not guilty for taking care of themselves is enough.  Caregivers are often the silent victims of this disease. Loyalty and duty come with the territory but a caregiver needs recharges also and support.