Alzheimer's Disease is a terrible, debilitating condition that affects over 45 million people worldwide. Those who have lost someone to this devastating disease know how emotional it can be to see their loved ones slowly succumbing to dementia. Personally, I'll never forget having to see my family suffer as my grandmother suffered.
Alzheimer's is difficult to diagnose in its early stages, though innovative scientific tests, such as the peanut butter study done at the McKnight Brain Institute Center for Smell and Taste, might soon produce medical a breakthrough and a ray of hope.
Apparently, when the brain of an Alzheimer's patient deteriorates, the part of the brain that remembers music is the last to go.
With this in mind, Mary Lenard and her friend, Marge Ostroushko, founded the Giving Voice Chorus earlier this year to give hope and relief to Alzheimer's sufferers. The chorus, evenly split between sufferers and their caregivers, gathers weekly to sing anything from old Broadway standards to the Beatles. Most remarkably, they sing all of the songs completely by memory!
Some of the choir members struggle to form sentences and have difficulty remembering basic details of their lives, but the choir gives them an opportunity to remember the joy the songs once gave them, and their loved ones get to see the patients exercising their memory in incredible ways.
"The emotions, the joy, the fun, the humor, that came with singing when they were 18 or 24 or 40 comes back," Lenard says. "It's a time for them to remember who they were before the disease came. They don't feel like they have Alzheimer's when they're singing."
Scroll down to learn a little more about this organization. You will definitely want to watch the video at the bottom that shows the inspirational choir in action. I couldn't help but tear up when I saw how happy the singing made them.
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Mary Lenard and Marge Ostroushko both lost parents to Alzheimer's. They knew the devastation of the disease and wanted to provide some relief to the victims and their loved ones.
Jerry Parks was diagnosed at the young age of 56. His wife, Karen, describes the disease as one that "robs." The choir allows Jerry to exercise his mind and for them to bond over a love of music.
The choir proves that music is an incredibly powerful tool. Songs really can get stuck in our heads, but who knew they were stuck that deep?
Doris Sterner joined the choir along with her daughter, Anne. Doris has trouble forming sentences. Her progressive aphasia causes her words to jumble, but when she sings, she has no trouble communicating.
"She can't say it, but she can sing the songs," says her daughter.
I'm so grateful to people like Mary and Marge who are truly doing something remarkable for a bunch of incredible seniors and their loved ones.
Please watch the video about these amazing women and their beautiful choir, and please SHARE this inspirational story with a friend!
