by Kathy Ruff
Today’s morning bike ride was cool and refreshing. The natural smells of fresh air, pine needles and dewy foliage were accented with a tinge of wood smoke from campfires burning at the campgrounds.
As the fog rolled away from the breast of the dam, thin strands remained creating a slight distortion to the mirror image caught by the camera.
This picture reminds me of my father, who died from Alzheimer’s in 2008. He had a layer of fog around his brain that thickened as the disease took its toll, but under the fog Dad was still there.
I wonder how many people realize that about Alzheimer’s patients. I’ve heard so many stories of people who choose to think, ‘He really doesn’t know.’ At times, they don’t. But under the fog, the real person you know sits in an intermittent prison of fear, confusion and frustration, grasping moments of reality and sanity. Like the reflections of the tree trunks in the water, the clarity remains under the fog.
If you know anyone who has Alzheimer’s Disease, please walk to help end this devastating disease. You can join us at the Mauch Chunk Lake Park for the Second Annual Alzheimer’s Family Fun Festival & Memory Walk on Oct. 9, or you can go to http://www.alz.org/ to find a walk near you. For more info, visit me on Facebook.
Together we can all make a difference and help to prevent the fog of Alzheimer’s. Won’t you help?
