Alzheimer’s Disease cannot destroy the power of love

Faded Memories by Aileen Smith // These are my grandparents. Today is their 60th wedding anniversary. The first photo is from last year, and the second is from this morning.

My grandpa has Alzheimer’s Disease and has been declining. Last year, we all went over to their house to celebrate their anniversary. Got them cards and a cake. My grandma told me that after everyone went home, she was in the kitchen washing dishes and my grandpa came up to her. He asked her “Hey, all those people in there said that I was your husband?” She told him “Yes, today is our anniversary.” and he said, “I was so happy when I heard that.”

Alzheimer’s Disease and the tough decisions you have to make

My grandma had to make a very tough decision last month to put my grandpa in a nursing home so he can get the proper care he needs. It’s been really hard for our family. A lot has changed in the time these two photos were taken. But as you can see, their connection and the way they laugh together hasn’t changed. There were no prompts to these photos. I just told them to stand next to each other. And this is what happened. Completely candid. Just pure love. That’s something that Alzheimer’s cannot take away. The memories may have faded. He may not know our names, or who we are in relation to him- but he knows that he loves us and that we feel like home. And that makes all of this a little bit easier.

Happy anniversary to two of my favorite people in life.

Aileen Smith

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