Speaking to Alzheimer's

[RitvarLegend]

isnt the mind, her heart knows that you are part of her, inside her body is a live part of you.

[incubusdriver]

she's spreaking...and singing, from the heart

[misstricianicole]

she reminds me so much of my grandmother when she was still here! i loved her sooo much. i still do. she had alzheimer's and it was so sad to watch. but she used to do the same thing! when she had trouble speaking, she would still sing and hum and tap her feet. she seemed very happy at that stage. thank you for sharing this. in a way, this is comforting to me because i miss my grammy SO much. every single day.

[mariadc075]

this is the stage my mother is in.is so sad to see this i actually had to cry...it hurts to see them this way.

[itsCARLDOUGLAS]

I used to care for dementia patients and i used to sing with them to. This disease is so sad :(

[PauleQueenie]

May I ask what your thoughts were when your own mother could not recognize you anymore?

And may I ask too, why you posted this really thoughtfull video on Youtube?

[peoples74]

That particular loss wasn't so sad for me, most likely because it didn't happen overnight. Also, I'm not so sure she DOESN'T recognize me after all. I doubt she thinks "oh, this is my daughter" or has any specific memories of times we've shared. But I believe she still feels some kind of strong positive connection to me.

Why post here? Initially because I wanted to share my grief. Now because I want to share that is is NOT all grief. There is still joy to be found in my interactions with her.

[PauleQueenie]

@peoples74 you think in a beautifully realistic manner and this needs to be appreciated.Quite correctly, people such as your mother may retain the connection, the "something" which makes people comfortable and known to a level not quite conscious and therefore not verbal. I think you posting this video is commendable to many people who may wish to find experience similar to yours. Alzheimer's people do not provide answers only those grieving seek through their grief answers they could not have

[hayleeeeeloveslife]

This breaks my heart, my grandmother has is. Does singing help?

[peoples74]

My mom still seems to enjoy being sung to, but she can't sing with me anymore. She just can't pull it together enough to carry a tune; it's too hard.

She turned 90 in December 2009 and she's still hanging in there. She's got a strong appetite and no difficulty yet with swallowing. She can't sit up anymore, though, she has to be propped up with pillows in her wheelchair or she just lolls to one side. She's starting to show signs of contracture, too.

[dyndor]

This video made me cry. What a devastating disease; but I am happy for your mother to be so close to Nirvana and so happy.

[april981]

:( MAY THE GOD BLESS U

[KikiC423]

it's good that you kept her remembering & singing as long as you could :)

[TomxLx93]

She's a well good beatboxer.

[xMusikLoverr]

God Bless ♥

[samp987]

This breakes my heart......God bless her.

[r2the3rd]

god bless..

[RebeccaRiot15]

im 16 years old & me & my dad & mother take care of my grandma thats on the last stage of Alzheimers. It is a journey. Stay strong & pray!

[sirMAXX77]

usually when they're singing or talking alot thats a good sign that they're in a good mood. my great gandmother you can tell something was wrong when she was quiet.

[peoples74]

This video is about 3 years old. My mom is still alive!

She no longer remembers the words nor tunes to the songs we once sang together. She still likes music, though, and has a good sense of rhythm. She smiles, slumped in her wheelchair, eyes closed, tapping her knees in time to the music.

She has no memory of her past, she lives totally in the present, and she is blissfully happy. She is as close to being in Nirvana as anybody I've ever seen.

Life, it is complicated...

[LCbanana]

this is so sad :(

may God bless you and help you along

[SpasmOfJoy]

this is fucking sad.....

[arcticpenguin2350]

My grandpa got Alzheimers in 1997 and died in 2003. I know the pain. He called me names like fat bastard and called me carl i think my grandma said carl was his best friend in the 1930s.

[maricristinacastel]

woww ! it is very hard !

[RonnieZachariadis1]

this clip is pretty realistic my mum is going through the same stage a lot worse though and i think all these comments above mine are in inappropriate dark and depressing

[Flid666]

This made me really upset :( my mum is 50 and has bad memory problems, yet we do not know whever she has alzeheimers or not.

you are strong and I hope god gives you the strength you need.

[peoples74]

thank you, Flid666.

It's been about 18 months since that video was shot. She's lost more of her self -- she can no longer walk or feed herself, and she's forgotten the words to the songs we used to sing together. But she still enjoys hearing me sing to her, and sometimes she hums along.

[padude64]

She is such a sweetie! God bless the family as my best friend is going through a demtia period but not ALzheimers! He is in bad shape! I wish doctors would say something!

[padude64]

She is such a sweetie pie to get thid evil disease! God Bless her and may God comfort her, the sweet pea!

[ejwes]

My mum is 58 and was diagnosed 4 years ago. She no longer communicates but makes very quite mumbles.  To see a glimpse of a smile on one hand makes me feel better because she feels happiness, however brief, but it also brings pain at the thought there is still a small part of her left inside the shell that is in front of me. This is such a cruel disease.

[akagothpunk]

hi there

I am currently putting together a presentation together for my placement considering the care of people with Alzheimer's. This video is very apt for the quote "people with alzheimers may soon forget what you say but they will never forget how you make them feel" You do a wonderful job Ann xxx

[megop3]

my grandma does that too she starts singing little tunes she has alztimers music just makes her happy

[makwaa1]

My gran's reached the point where she repeats the same words all day: My eyes...mother...my eyes. What's interesting is she says those words in Swahili, a language she hasn't spoken since she was 20. As a White Kenyan she was taught not to speak Swahili around whites. So things from her childhood are coming back, and none of us know what they mean to her. She responds to music also, and it gives us something to connect with. This is a heartbreaking illness.

[kendravagt]

this is an interesting video. i work with alzheimers patients and i used to work with a woman a lot like your mom...echolilia (sp?) right?

i love the singing part...i sing all the time with my patients..amazing how they always remember music..

[peoples74]

I love the singing, too. It's my most effective tool in reaching my mother, these days. She can no longer respond to words reliably; often she can't make sense of them. But music still pleases her immensely.

I don't hear much echolalia in the continual stream of noises she puts out. She makes the noises in the absense of audio stimulation, so I presume it's self-generated from something in her head that's triggering it. I think she used sound and rhythm to sooth herself.