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She Can Still See Me
By
Beverly Moore |
Question:
Where did your new name StilMee™ come from?
Answer:
I’ll need to tell you the story of Peter. Even though
diagnosed with Alzheimer’s which is supposed to affect the
hippocampus first, destroying memory, he continued
throughout his illness having good recognition of people;
knowing his children’s names, their children’s names,
friends and even this StilMee™ coach. He was also acutely
aware of what was happening around him, asking a clarifying
question when he was puzzled about something said. Aware he
didn’t sense the passage of time, he’d call out to his wife
Nancy, “How long have I been in this shower anyway? I’m
beginning to look like a prune.”
As you can see he had a great sense of humor. Peter
presented his disease different from any other I’ve met.
Each person’s challenges are based on the part of the brain
affected with the disease, but a person’s resilience and
ability to laugh at himself sure help!
Peter’s gentleness, his wit and his willingness to share his
frustrations about losing language skills and the ability to
recognize the use of things gave him a very special place in
my heart as he has in his many friends. He had one time
tried to dial up his daughter on the TV remote control, then
threw it on the sofa in recognition of his mistake.
He sat in on every coaching session, interjecting questions.
This is very unusual because people with Alzheimer’s become
unaware of the impact of their disease and become confused
when the family talks about their behavior. Halfway through
our first meeting he turned to Nancy and exclaimed, “Listen
to Beverly, Nancy. You need to learn to speak to me like she
does. She can still see ME.” And Nancy did learn to relate
to the personhood of her husband rather than view him
through the label of Alzheimer’s.
It is in his memory I branded our method of Alzheimer
coaching Stil- Mee™. His son Peter emailed me that he was
sure that would make his father smile broadly. |
About The Author
Beverly Moore is president of Sweet Grapes, Inc. and
StilMee™ The leader in Alzheimer coaching. You may email her
at StilMee@comcast. net or call her at (617) 233-1145. You
may also visit her web site at www.StilMee.com. Beverly’s
book Matters of the Mind…and the Heart is available on line
@ www.Advantagebookstore.com. Five dollars from each book
sale goes into the StilMee Scholarship Fund serving low
income families with coaching help.
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