By Bill Herr

For persons with Alzheimer's Disease (AD), they may know more about their surroundings and what is said to them than people think. They ought to be treated in conversation just as though they don't have AD, but have awareness and recognize what is being said, even if they don't reflect it. And they, like all of us, appreciate warmth and friendliness.

According to current research, we have 86 billion neurons in our brain. Whether we have dementia in AD or not, some of our neurons are constantly dying, just as cells in our bodies are constantly dying, but new ones are also being produced. There are neurons that transport information to parts of the brain involving memory and reasoning. This part of the brain is like a factory. When certain elements of a factory shut down, confusion and inefficiency occurs. But some of the images stored in this factory in the brain remain, although they may be mysteriously hidden. Sometimes they may surface like the sun breaking through the clouds on a dark day.

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I live on a farm. One early morning, I was walking out to the barn to do chores and the sun broke through the clouds. I then witnessed something so remarkable I will never forget it. I saw the first rays of light sweep from east to west across our barn and other buildings. It was amazing. In my 24 years as chaplain at Mennonite Memorial Home and 22 years as a volunteer at Richland Manor Nursing Home, it was my experience to witness persons with AD display lucidity at times. That is, they understood what was said or what was going on like the sun breaking out from cover of clouds.

I will give an example. A resident had been prominent in her community and in the education field. She was now a resident in the nursing home and had AD. While she was pleasant, she said little and eventually stopped talking and making eye contact. One day I arrived at the nursing home and a nurse told me this lady was dying and maybe I could see her. I went immediately to her bedside and observed she was lying quietly, breathing slowly.

As always when I went to visit a resident, I asked for her permission to read scripture and pray. Although she didn't respond, I knew she didn't mind - she had been a faithful Christian that served her church in the past. After reading from the Bible and praying, I said her name and then said this sentence: "Isn't it wonderful that God loves us so much that he wants us to live with him in heaven after we leave this life?" At this, the woman slowly turned her head toward me and made eye contact. She then said in a firm voice, "ABSOLUTELY!" I will never forget that moment. I've told this story many times and I still choke up when I remember it.

This illustration and others I have witnessed is why I believe that at random times persons with AD are "absolutely" aware of their surroundings and what is said to them. If you have a loved one with AD, or know someone with it, always observe closely and you may catch that magic moment when God's light, put into each person he created, shines brightly through the haze of Alzheimer's disease. I like to think of it as our brain has these neurons of memory and reasoning connected by wires, and sometimes the wires get disconnected. But occasionally they get juggled and align themselves, if only temporarily. May God bless all family members that have AD in their family. It is a tough disease to deal with. But strive to not always dwell sadly on how your loved one used to be, but love them in their new humanness.

Bill Herr taught high school mathematics and science for 32 years. After retiring from teaching, he began a nursing home ministry. He served as chaplain at a nursing home for 24 years. He has since written columns relating to sports memories from high school experiences and columns relating to experiences at the nursing home.