Kansas - Remembering Ellsworth (a reminder to make note of your grandparents memories)

While trying to find something about the past about Kansas, I found this sweet and touching song by Rascal Flatts called "Ellsworth", and a sweet and touching video to go with it. It is also a reminder to us that we should really capture the memories of our grandparents, parents and loved ones while we can.

Alzheimers and memory loss is something that my husband and I have had to face on both sides of our family. It's devastating and painful. I have also worked with people in the past who had Alzheimers, and it was then that I discovered that for most people there are still moments every now and then when they reconnect with their memory.

This song and video touched on that. If the woman was just asked about Ellsworth, Kansas she would snap right back into that period in time and remember details about that time period with clarity. But, if you visited her again the next day she would have forgotten you were there the day before, and later she might forget who you are all together.

There was a man I worked with who was in a late stage of Alzheimers, and didn't seem to have any memory of anything anymore. It was as if his light inside his mind had gone out. He had such a long successful life and his wife was still right by his side, taking care of him along with the nurses. I wanted to bring his mind back so badly, as I wanted to do with everyone who had Alzheimers. One day I started to sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and all of a sudden he started singing right along with me!

He sang with the passion of a Broadway singer - a loud and powerful voice. I was so shocked to see that his facial expressions, his body movements, and his mind were back again. I continued to sing along with him and by the end of the song he had tears rolling down his cheeks. I knew that the song must have sparked some memory inside him, or maybe just the sound and feeling of music at all brought him joy.

I asked him if he liked that song and he said yes, and then I asked him if he knew the title, and he told me "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". By the time I asked him if the song reminded him of anything in particular, his light in his mind was going out again. So, I decided to sing once more, the same song, and again, he sang right along with his strong voice.

That was the last time I was able to bring his memory back. In the days that followed I tried other songs, but it never worked again. He only spoke random words that didn't form a sentence. He lived a long life with a successful career, married a wife and had children, all of which filled his brain with a lifetime of happy memories and information, none of which could be accessed anymore or shared with anyone again. I keep wanting to say "it's unfair" over and over again when it comes to this topic. It's just unfair. When will there be a cure?

The only thing we can do until there is a cure is to try to capture people's memories while they are alive. Sit down and have a conversation with your older family members and record it. Ask them questions about their childhood, their favorites, some of their most embarrassing moments which are now funny, traditions of their family, their favorite presidents, what they're most proud of, what they believe success is, what they would do differently in life, etc.

Make a list of things you want to ask them, things that you'll enjoy listening to, and things future generations will want to know about. Ask away. Write those old recipes down, your family tree, the addresses of their previous homes, etc. Write down who is in all those old photos. You'll be glad you did later.

Thank you to girloftheshire for posting that touching video to youtube (not sure if they are the ones who created it). Rascal Flatts wrote the beautiful song and they own the copyright to it, of course. Also worth checking out is the Alzheimer's Association Web Site.