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Wednesday, January 28, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Of a certain age
By Sue Stafford
Columnist
My
mother
had
Alzheimer’s. My sister-in-
law is currently living with
Alzheimer’s. A number of
my Transitions clients when
I worked for hospice had a
diagnosis of Alzheimer’s.
My own lapses of memory
are increasingly noticeable.
More than once in con-
versation with friends I
have heard people say, “If
I develop Alzheimer’s just
take me out and shoot me.”
I myself in the past have
told my sons, “If that hap-
pens just take me out in the
woods, prop me up against
a tree, and let the animals
eat me.” Those are the
kinds of statements people
make, considering it prefer-
able to be shot or eaten by
wild animals than to live
with Alzheimer’s or other
dementia. It is way past
time to develop and adopt
new language and new
attitudes toward not only
Alzheimer’s, but the entire
natural process of aging in
general.
The language that
has grown up around
Alzheimer’s is in some ways
very militaristic. For the past
four decades, we have been
“waging war,” attempting to
“halt,” “fight,” and “arrest”
the “attacks or strikes” of
this “menace,” causing us to
regard Alzheimer’s the way
we viewed polio prior to the
Salk vaccine. With that kind
of vocabulary Alzheimer’s
becomes viewed as a disease
epidemic coming from out-
side our bodies and simply
awaiting a vaccine or cure.
These war metaphors
may have been necessary to
get the attention of the pub-
lic and to help encourage
research funding. However,
that language has demon-
ized our own human sus-
ceptibility to normal aging
processes, which we can
then externalize. There is
promising research being
conducted that can hope-
fully help us understand
Alzheimer’s more fully and
perhaps find a way to post-
pone or slow the develop-
ment of plaques and tangles
in the affected brain, and
that’s a good thing.
Even more important
than the research is the
adoption of a new lexicon
for talking about aging and
dementia in general, and
Alzheimer’s specifically.
Rather than considering
“being over the hill” a nega-
tive indicating that mean-
ingful life is over, what if
we saw it as a positive time,
with some of the struggles
and insecurities of younger
times passed? Being “fur-
ther along the path of life”
is a kinder, more realistic
description indicating you
are now someone who has
had the life experiences
that give rise to wisdom,
patience, and understanding.
There is other language
around dementia that incor-
rectly paints the picture of
“loss of self,” being a “shell
of my former self,” a “living
death” with “nobody home.”
This stereotypical blanket
language implies that the
person we know is no longer
there, which can make it eas-
ier to ignore or not attempt
to engage them in meaning-
ful activity. If “they don’t
know what’s going on” why
bother to engage or visit
them?
The truth of the matter
is, identity is never com-
pletely gone until death.
My mother was still my
mother, Alzheimer’s or not.
The problem was not only
her condition, but our lack
of proper understanding
as to how to meaningfully
interact with her. Yes, it still
would have been difficult to
watch her mental capacity
decline and she might still
have been difficult to deal
with at times. However, had
I known then what I know
now, I think her quality of
life could have been dramat-
ically improved and perhaps
our experience of her.
Studies and programs
have shown the great ben-
efit of incorporating music,
art, and horticulture into the
daily activities of people liv-
ing with dementia. Enjoying
music they have always
loved doesn’t require peo-
ple to be verbal, and amaz-
ing things can happen when
deep memories are tapped
by a familiar piece of music.
People who have been
labeled as nonverbal will
begin to sing along or talk
about things they remember
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in connection to the music
or to that time in their life.
They are still here. We have
sparked recognition and
engaged them.
Art and horticultural
activities work in a similar
way. Let someone smell a
rose or some lavender and
they are apt to tell you about
their grandmother’s or their
own garden. We need to take
the time and show interest in
connecting with those living
with dementia and providing
meaningful, enriching activ-
ities for them. Additionally,
there is a much more respect-
ful way to talk to dementia-
affected people than what
has been employed for so
long. (That’s a whole sepa-
rate topic.)
Aging is not optional,
and diminished capacity,
whether physical and/or
mental, is part of aging. As
I approach my elderhood, I
do know that I don’t want to
be isolated from my human
networks simply because
I am getting older. I don’t
want to be alive physically
but living through a “social
death.” I am hopeful that
people will look at my peers
and me as “mentors” rather
than patients or “victims,”
with something to offer.
Viewing aging people
as contributors to society,
rather than a collective bur-
den to be housed and man-
aged, will hopefully prompt
communities and orga-
nizations to explore how
to accommodate, utilize,
accommodate and benefit
from the presence of elders.
Hopefully if we consciously
start using different language
when talking and thinking
about individuals affected by
brain aging, we will change
our attitudes and behavior
toward our aging neighbors
and our own aging brains.
How lovely it would be
for the Sisters community
to coalesce around a more
humane, life-affirming
approach that connects us to
our elders and enables them
to live a fuller, richer life
that is also of benefit to our
community.
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— 541-977-7900 —
ALBERTSOn:
Presentation is free
and open to the public
Continued from page 3
because he is able to draw
on a lifetime memory bank
of things, colors, people and
places.
His intimate familiarity
with his beloved Metolius
River allows him the freedom
to wander along the river,
alone with no assistance,
carrying his tripod over his
shoulder and his camera gear
in his backpack. A lifetime of
handling camera equipment
and creating photographs sus-
tains his ability to continue to
pursue his passion for cap-
turing images of nature with
clarity, sensuality and atten-
tion to detail.
Albertson will share the
challenges and opportunities
presented by his blindness.
He has created new tools and
made many accommodations
to enable his continued pur-
suit of photography. Brightly
colored reflectors on lens
caps help him to find them
if they get dropped. He has
learned to put things back in
the same place every time so
he can more easily retrieve
them later.
Transportation around
Camp Sherman is provided
by his specially equipped
four-wheeled recumbent bike
that is painted a bright yellow
allowing Albertson to see his
bike and for him to be seen
by others.
The fact that a barely
sighted man can shoot exqui-
site photographs is amazing
in itself. But the most notable
quality of Albertson’s is his
upbeat take on life and his
gracious appreciation for the
gifts he says his blindness has
provided.
“I used to be an aloof
Norwegian, standing on the
perimeter of things. With my
blindness I’ve learned to be
thankful, to accept the gifts
of people who have come
out of the woodwork to be
of assistance. And now I am
so appreciative because I
have learned what friendship
is. People in this area are so
helpful… so you could say
that I’m living in heaven —
living where I should be.”
Albertson went on to say,
“Lose your eyesight and
you’ll break down your old
‘rules.’ You’re going to have
to say thank you a lot. I’ve
gone from being very inde-
pendent to very dependent
and it’s OK.”
He approaches his blind-
ness as if it were a game. For
example, if someone fills a
plate with food for him, he
doesn’t know what he’s get-
ting. There can be no pre-
conceived notion regarding
the flavors or textures so he
gets to be surprised when he
puts the food in his mouth.
Having the courage to allow
himself to be surprised is
an awakening process. He
said he has taken on being
blind as an adventure, not a
disability.
Standing beside the
Metolius River as Albertson
explained how he captures
his images, his passion and
enthusiasm for his world
were contagious, and this
reporter was left impressed
by his great appreciation for
all that life offers — chal-
lenges, opportunities and
rewards.
Albertson will show slides
of his work as he describes
how he continues his pho-
tography as he journeys into
darkness. He will discuss
why he has dedicated his
life to photography, provide
information on the equip-
ment he uses, and then share
who he is through his pho-
tographs, his children as he
calls them. The presentation
is open to the public and is
free of charge.
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