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We Rage, We Weep
In 1995 June Moulton's beloved husband Rusty succumbed to Alzheimer's disease at age 80 after a lengthy struggle. The Burns Lake children's author now offers her down-to-earth directions and solace for relatives coping with the nightmarish disease of Alzheimer's, particularly in rural situations, in We Rage, We Weep.
"It was incomprehensible to me that a man who'd been a mathematical whiz all his life couldn't calculate his own age,"; she says. "It was heartbreaking to see routine tasks become difficult, to witness the frustration that results when the 'simple' becomes inexplicably complex.";
Repeating stories. Misplacing things. Financial confusion. Radical mood shifts. Personality changes. Decreased judgement. Loss of initiative. It was an unstoppable degradation. Near the onset, Moulton worried that Rusty, an outdoorsman, would disappear into the bush.
"After he attempted to eat his soup with a fork,"; she recalls, "I made a habit of setting his place at the table with only the necessary utensils."; But all of Moulton's love and attention couldn't prevent the inevitable. Now she is the facilitator of a local Alzheimer's support group and a self-publisher c/o Box 539 Burns Lake, B.C. V0J 1E0 ($12.95 plus postage). 0-9680997-3-4
[BCBW SPRING 2001]
"It was incomprehensible to me that a man who'd been a mathematical whiz all his life couldn't calculate his own age,"; she says. "It was heartbreaking to see routine tasks become difficult, to witness the frustration that results when the 'simple' becomes inexplicably complex.";
Repeating stories. Misplacing things. Financial confusion. Radical mood shifts. Personality changes. Decreased judgement. Loss of initiative. It was an unstoppable degradation. Near the onset, Moulton worried that Rusty, an outdoorsman, would disappear into the bush.
"After he attempted to eat his soup with a fork,"; she recalls, "I made a habit of setting his place at the table with only the necessary utensils."; But all of Moulton's love and attention couldn't prevent the inevitable. Now she is the facilitator of a local Alzheimer's support group and a self-publisher c/o Box 539 Burns Lake, B.C. V0J 1E0 ($12.95 plus postage). 0-9680997-3-4
[BCBW SPRING 2001]
Submitted on June 24, 2003 in By David.
