He put the biggest smile on my face, what a precious moment to catch on tape.
You never know when the life will turn the back on you. Imaging living the life you have been craving for, achieving all the goals you have set up and suddenly you have no idea who you are! That must be a frustrating thing for you and the family members that surround you.
This is exactly what happened to Norm. As his daughter Elaine Rusk explains for The Sun Chronicle, Norm was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease when he was 89 years old. Since 2014, Norm has no idea who he is or what he has been doing in the past years of his adulthood. But, not always!
Thanks to the love and the dedication of his daughter, Norm got a constant care and attention by his beloved ones, not being institutionalized. As a consequence to that, Elaine tries to occupy Norm with activities that once were his passion. She decided to reintroduce Norm’s favorite hobby – watercolour painting.
The efforts had some good results. Now and then a bright light shines in the tunnel of darkness. There are moments when Norm is ‘back’ and his memory is as good as it was previously. Elaine explains that they share special moments filled with love and care. She adds that she will remember those moments for the rest of her life. She wouldn’t have experienced those moments if Norm ended up institutionalized.
Additionally, Elaine says:
“To me, it’s like a sacred time. We’re in the moment together. A sacred time. We’re in the moment together.”
Even though taking care of a patient with Alzheimer’s is a hard work and sometimes a tiring thing to do, the love you get back is priceless. Elaine’s smile says it all.
In a moment of consciousness, Norm was asked if he knew about his disease. His clear answer is stunning. His daughter grabbed the camera, turned it on and see what they came up with on the video below.
