Dear Alzheimer's Disease,
There are a number of different diseases for which I have developed a dislike, but I have to tell you right now that you top the list. And for good reason. You have taken a brilliant, loving, devoted man like my father and left him putty in your hands.
And because of this, I believe I'm entitled to ask a few questions of you:
- Why do you have to be so cruel? Is the sheer degradation associated with the normal aging process itself not good enough for you? Or do you have to feel like the big man stepping on the feet of mother nature?
- If you feel the need to take away my father's mental abilities, could you just do it for God's sake? Don't leave him remembering that he used to walk but forgetting that he no longer can. Find some way to let him realize these new limitations you have imposed on him.
- If you feel the need to change people's personalities, why not make them all happy and serene in this state of delusion? Why anger? Why nastiness?
- And what about acceptance? If you're going to continue to be the brain-stealer you are, could you not incorporate a little acceptance into those brains you invade?
- Why are you so resistant to change? Do you have to be so secretive about what makes you tick? What are you holding out for? The rest of us are waiting for a cure.
- Do you have any kind of heart? Why can't you provide some reward for the overwhelmed caregivers? Could you not provide a moment of release? Of tenderness? Of happiness? Of respite from this neverending burden?
Respectfully submitted,
realizing my own future may be
in your hands as well . . .
