Now and at the Hour of Death

With Alzheimer disease, the challenge of death can be unique to each who experience it: the caretaker, the family, the health-care professional, and the victim himself. Death of personality, of memory, and of physical skills wears away the fabric of relationships, leaving little hope of any return to normalcy. To some, this reflection exhibits how faith sustains hope and comforts those afflicted, despite the odds of inevitable loss. To others it reflects upon the poignant complexities associated with palliative care and the demand for individualized attention to the beliefs, norms, and values of each situation, no matter the culture, religion, age, or race. No two cases are ever the same in the face of death, yet for those who experience it, all must appreciate how difficult, unique, personal, and memorable such moments can be.