{"id":9990,"date":"2015-03-25T11:26:32","date_gmt":"2015-03-25T18:26:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/?p=9990"},"modified":"2015-03-25T11:26:32","modified_gmt":"2015-03-25T18:26:32","slug":"elders-is-it-difficult-to-be-alive-inside","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pnwumc.org\/news\/elders-is-it-difficult-to-be-alive-inside\/","title":{"rendered":"Elders: Is it difficult to be \u201cAlive Inside\u201d?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"INSIGHTS_Nurturingelders_movieposters\"<\/a>Is it difficult to be \u201cAlive Inside\u201d?<\/strong>
\nBy The Rev. Paul Graves<\/p>\n

I noticed a woman pushing her husband into a nursing home dining room. She maneuvered his wheelchair into the front row of the chairs set up for the worship service. I was substituting at this service for our pastor. The pianist was absent too, so we used a CD of traditional hymns we would sing along with.<\/p>\n

The husband had some kind of advanced dementia<\/a>. Her love for him was evident, but his ability to respond seemed very limited. His facial look was neutral. He hadn\u2019t even tried to say anything to his wife. But that was about to change.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

We had sung a few \u201coldie-moldies\u201d and then began singing \u201cLove Lifted Me\u201d. As we began the chorus, the man\u2019s eyes brightened, he turned to his wife, and he sang to her, \u201cLove Lifted Me, Love Lifted Me\u2026\u201d It became a love song to his wife!<\/p>\n

That moment happened about eight years ago. But I will never forget its impact on me. Beyond the sweetness of one man\u2019s love serenade to his long-time wife, I learned something very important: never forget that someone with dementia is someone who is, in some way, still alive inside.<\/p>\n

I was reminded of this sweet love-story a few weeks ago when I was introduced to a very important film documentary called \u201cAlive Inside\u201d<\/a>. I want to encourage any reader of this blog to look for an opportunity to watch it — whether you have a loved one living with dementia or not!<\/p>\n

\u201cAlive Inside\u201d is the documented story of countless persons living with dementia. They seemed to literally come alive when earphones were gently slipped on their heads and they could listen to the music that was part of their life experiences.<\/p>\n