It’s No Fun, This Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease sneaks up on its victims, and leaves them confused and helpless in the face of insurmountable odds. In the earlier stages, awareness of the coming loss of mental capacity scares patients: no one wants to lose cognition. And worse, the patient facing Alzheimer’s recognizes the burden he will be on his family as the disease worsens. Unfortunately, no known cure exists today. We aren’t even sure of the cause. Plaque seems to build up in parts of the brain and interferes with nerve transmissions. But we don’t know what causes the plaque to develop.  Genetic? Dietary? Lifestyle? The jury is out. But we do know that temporary relief from the stresses of dementia is available. Therapeutic music temporarily awakens a dementia patient, bringing him back to awareness.

She was slumped over in her wheelchair, until the music began

A younger lady, in the latter stages of Alzheimer’s, lost in the fog of forgetfulness…. Nonverbal…. Unresponsive to events around her…. Then the music began. The music flowed across the space to her, resonating with her brain, jogging something loose so suddenly she sat bolt upright. Her eyes, shining brightly, bore into me. She followed my movements and she tried to talk. Clearly, the music struck some memory or some neural pathway that made sense of the world around her, and she woke up. The nurses tell me that the effects of the music continued for about 5 minutes after I stopped playing. This doesn’t seem like much time, but it was time the music gave to the lady. A moment of wakefulness. How precious when there is so little of it. This patient died a few weeks later.

Is It Dementia, or Is It Alzheimer’s?

Generally, dementia doesn’t cause death. Death results from other causes.  In the case of Alzheimer’s, the disease can progress to the point where the brain can no longer direct bodily functions, causing death.  But again, typically death will happen before that point, due to other causes. We so desperately need more research for a cure. Until a cure, though, our only option remains to offer short term relief from the insidious effects of this disease. Therapeutic music fits into this scenario.

We are proud to be able to reach out to some of these folks. We thrill at seeing them awaken, maybe talking, maybe tapping a foot to the music, maybe smiling. Join us in providing relief. More information about Alzheimer’s is available from  Alzheimer’s Foundation of America.  Your generous donation to us will help further our efforts to bring music into their consciousness. Click here to donate.  And THANK YOU