If this ad didn't gut punch you by surprise during the Thanksgiving weekend football games, chances are decent that someone you know has posted it to their social media feed. It is, as intended, heartwarming and emotional... and in many ways, an accurate depiction of the effect of Alzheimer's on someone. (Chevy worked with the Alzheimer's Association on the ad.)
I find myself with really mixed feelings about it... well, not as mixed as I would like. I saw parts of it once over the Thanksgiving weekend and had to fight back a reaction. Then, watching the full five-minute version today, I sat in front of my computer as tears rolled down my face.
When I'm talking about mixed feelings, I'm not talking about the effectiveness of the ad - it's an impressive piece of filmmaking and a brilliant use of John Denver's "Sunshine on My Shoulders" as the soundtrack. The ad has a happy ending - Grammy's memory is sparked by the field trip with her granddaughter and she's able to connect in a meaningful way with family.
But the ad stops before what happens to many families in this situation - when the person suffering from dementia lapses back into a thousand yard stare or confusion or becomes stuck on a mixture of memories and fiction like a record skipping across a deep scratch.
I say that because we chose to move my almost 85 year old mother into a memory care facility the week before Thanksgiving. And while there are moments when Mom peeks through the haze, those are getting fewer and farther between.
I don't really have a point - and I'm not interested in debating the choices we as a family have made. I just felt the need to share my reaction to the video... and that I love and miss my mom.
My grandmother started showing signs of dementia that progressed further and further. She couldn't remember her own family, but she could remember how to play almost every hymn in the hymnal and all the words to them. It was sad to see her go little by little. We know she's with her Savior now, but it was definitely hard as those years progressed.
ReplyDeleteMy aunt on the other side is in a memory care facility now. She's safe, but definitely doesn't have awareness of everything going on or which family members are which. She had all sorts of issues getting around before that and was dangerous to herself and others.