Alzheimer's and Love

This movie always makes me cry, even though some parts are pretty generically "Hollywood" cheesy. It's just such a terrifying and touching story. I think loosing your memory is one of the most scary things I can imagine. I always feel so sorry for the kids in the story and they barely even get mentioned. I always also wonder about other days Noah reads to her. They mention some, but the whole thing is so beautiful and sad. And it's so lucky they have each other and that Allie wrote that before she lost more of her memory.

My grandmother had alzheimer's and it is definitely one of the hardest things to watch someone go through. Her husband started out not admitting that it was happening but there would be days where she would wander off while they were at the grocery store and he would find her miles away without a clue where she was going. This was just the early stages. By the end of her life she didn't have a clue who my mom or her husband was and then even forgot how to do basic things such as go to the bathroom or speak. Eventually, she had forgotten how to do almost everything in life except for breathe.

If anyone recalls, the textbook refers to how Hollywood glorifies amnesia and talks about people suddenly getting their memory back, and it usually has to do with love. Though this is not about amnesia, the same glorification applies. It would be great if people with dementia could suddenly get their memories back by hearing a love story, unfortunately, this is not the case.

The Notebook is one of my all time favorite movies. I do agree with mention that it is an example of Hollywood's glorification of a serious illiness. The movie does to a good job of showing the emotional and strenuous effect Alzheimer's has on loved ones though. My great grandma suffered from the awful disease and unfortunately the outcome, of course, was not as glamourous. Another example of Alzheimer's depicted in the media is Grey's Anatomy. The main character's mom suffers from Alzheimer's.

I've worked with Alzheimer's patients for a while now, and this movie was very great. Although all cases are not this extreme, I think it is important to remember that the damage that is done to the brain over time does not typically include a loss of consciousness. Often it is very hard to communicate, but working hard at it with someone you know and love is very rewarding.

Alzheimer's is truly a devastating disease, it was difficult watching my grandfather suffer from it for many years. He never seemed to have a momentary regaining of memory like Allie did in the Notebook, although he always remembered his wife.
The Notebook makes me cry also... it's such a touching story.

I think the movie does a good job bringing to light the emotional burden on the loved ones of the Alzheimer's patient. I can't imagine being in that husband's situation.

To be completely honest, just reading this depresses the hell outta me. Just the idea of some old couple that have been married for 50+ years all of a sudden not even knowing that the other one exists...I don't know if I could ever personally deal with that.