One of the hardest things lately has been the loss of communication.
Losing a partner to this disease is terrible, and I’m not talking about death. I’m talking about the loss of the person with whom you had fallen in love.
I don’t often discuss this or even admit it but one of the reasons why I was attracted to Dave in the first place is his amazing mind. He was always full of ideas and was, I hate to admit, a much better communicator than I was and still am today.
I’ve always been able to understand business, cultural context, and priorities to craft messages that are relevant. But Dave was able to build his ideas using language and phrasing with much more artfulness. His grasp of language was masterful and his vocabulary superior to anyone else I’ve ever known.
This makes the losses of Alzheimer’s even more heartbreaking. Yes I’ve lost a partner. Yes, I’ve lost someone who can help do things with and with whom to enjoy life. But I’ve really lost the person with whom I shared ideas and explored topics relevant to life, the world and the universe.
I know that’s never coming back, but it doesn’t make it any easier.
This has also been the hardest part of losing my husband to Parkinson's dementia. I fell in love with his sense of humor and astounding intellect--now he's mostly non-verbal. I anticipated the loss of his physical independence, but losing the person inside that body has been devastating.
One of the most intelligent, creative and talented people ever to have entered my life. I'm so sorry Tanya. I can't even imagine the loss. Having lost my wife and son this past year - I understand loss, but what you are experiencing cuts even deeper.