Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Week 9

Forgotten



He sits in his faded blue recliner, starring at the photograph mocking him from the fireplace. “We buried him last week, he only lived to be fifty, that little boy in front is now the father of three kids”, his wife listens to him name each player from his soccer team sixty years earlier. She fixes him his breakfast and listens to him as he recalls past events like it only happened the day before. Amazing. 
Earlier this week, he had managed to ask if his mother was in bed three nights in a row, even though she has been dead for years. He also managed to mistake the spare bedroom for the bathroom at least ten times, and never forgets to ask where the car is that he was forced to give up once he could no longer continue to drive it. When he snaps back to reality, the glistening of his eye seems to fade with shame. He forgot himself again. 
He will always light up when his grandchildren walks through the door, never forgetting their faces. He will continue to be grateful for the wife that saved him under many circumstances, and the children that have stood by him when everything took a turn for the worst. What happens when he no longer recognizes them?
She listens with hope, after asking, “What did I cook you for dinner yesterday?”, knowing his answer will be wrong, but never giving up hope. She then sits back silently as he tells her all about the day they met, their wedding, and the birth of their two children.
Any day at all he could forget the life he has built for himself. The family he fought to support years ago will mean nothing to him, they will just be faces that he sees on a regular basis, but sees everyday for the first time. When that time comes, what happens? He has been claimed by Alzheimer’s Disease just like many of the greatest people. 

It is inevitable: life will continue weather he is present or absent in mind. Stuck in the past, or praying for more time to live the life he fought so hard for. 

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