Alzheimer’s not only the person, but their loved ones as well. Elaine Rusk knows all about how it can be, as her father too was diagnosed.
One day, Elaine decided to ask her dad, Norm, an interesting question about whether or not he knew he had it. She filmed his response for the world to see.
Elaine stepped in to be his full-time caregiver. She even helped him rekindle his love of painting.
Norm lost his ability to walk, stand, and they weren’t able to bring him out with a wheelchair – so Elaine stayed with him inside the house. The pair had been in their home for 16 months when she made her video.
Like many others in her situation, Elaine belonged to several different internet support groups that were created for people caring for loved ones. Then one time, a group member posed a question to Elaine.
The woman was curious if Norm was actually aware of his condition. So, Elaine decided to find out.
Life can become completely different for a person affected. On the Alzheimer’s Association site, it says:
“It causes problems with memory, thinking and behavior. Symptoms usually develop slowly and get worse over time, becoming severe enough to interfere with daily tasks.”
The numbers are also staggering of how many people in the United States live with Alzheimer’s – which mostly takes hold of senior citizens 65 years and older.
According to the Texas Health and Human Services website:
“An estimated 5.8 million Americans of all ages are living with it in 2019. This includes an estimated 5.6 million people age 65 and older and approximately 200,000 individuals under age 65 who have younger-onset Alzheimer’s.”
Being that Norm was also experiencing memory loss, Elaine wanted to see how he would respond to the group member’s question.
In the video below, she begins by explaining to her dad that the woman, Julie, has a father with the same condition. She then adds, “and you do too.”
Elaine then gets to the question,
“Are you aware that you have Alzheimer’s? Julie wants to know if you know that.”
Norm then responds “Yeah,” followed by, “Yeah, I know I got it.” Elaine goes on to tell him how Julie’s dad actually doesn’t believe that he does (although it’s the truth).
The next few moments it seems that her dad is a little confused – but has a sweet smile that could light up a room. His final answer is,
“Ahh, yes I do!”
After Elaine posted the video of their interaction online, somebody else came up with a question for her father. However, this one went a little deeper.
She explained:
“…another person wrote and asked if my dad was capable of understanding what it is? So I asked him…”
It seemed like a tricky question, but Elaine sat by her father’s bedside once again to find out how he would respond. Fortunately, his answer was also captured on film…
Elaine asks,
“Somebody I know named Ellen wants to know if you understand what Alzheimer’s is?”
Watch the video below to hear what Norm has to say. It’s a scene that tugs at your heart.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
