TORNADO OF THE MIND

      

There is rain and then…. there is rain.   

Sometimes, rain is soft, warm and welcoming.                    There are times when the rain is cold and hard.

I like to walk in a warm soft rain. I enjoy the wet drops as the slide down my face and it doesn’t matter if my clothes get soaked. It is a wonderful feeling to hold my mouth open and catch the drops. There is nothing threatening about walking in that type of rain.

Then, there is the cold hard rain with ominous sounds of thunder in the distance and flashes of lighting cross the sky. There are dark skies and a promise of a rain storm that could contain damaging, tornado winds. As the storm approaches there are dark, black-green clouds and when it pours its cold water on my part of the earth there will be destruction.

This is the weather bulletin for anyone who is facing the storm of Alzheimer’s disease.

Nothing can stop the Alzheimer’s storm as it approaches from the distance.  More damage is done to the mind the closer the Alzheimer’s storm gets. The damaging wind becomes a tornado and whirls through the brain and destroys everything in its path.

Memories in its path are uprooted and scattered. Thoughts are violently tossed in a whirling column of air. As the storm progresses, its heavy rain drowns the personality and washes away speech. It forces the mind to hide in a deep shelter that will never open

Nothing can stop the damaging and fatal storm of Alzheimer’s as it continues to destroy Peggy's mind.

I will hold to her hands until the storm is over and calm comes to her. Then, I will know that she is safe and the storm in her brain has ended. She will finally have the peace of the warm, spring rain on her face.

When Peggy’s storm is over, I will walk in a gentle, warm spring rain and think of her and what she taught me as she struggled through the storm of Alzheimer’s disease.

I Love You Today, Peggy ...more than you can remember!

Mary Louise