Make-up and Miracles
From Chicken Soup for the Soul: Miracles and the Unexplainable
By Jack Byron

Sometimes, reaching out and taking someone’s hand is the beginning of a journey.
~Vera Nazarian, The Perpetual Calendar of Inspiration

Vera sat with her shoulders hunched, withdrawn and silent. In all my years working with Alzheimer’s patients, the hardest part was bearing witness to the isolation that it imposed. Vera was definitely isolated, and my efforts to involve her in the social life of the facility that was now her home were only met with a haunted, lonely stare from the diminutive woman with the pixie haircut.

She had no immediate family left and had never married. What her life had been remained a mystery, her files containing little hint of her background. As an activity director, I had learned to walk a fine line between a resident’s past and the present they now faced; with Alzheimer’s disease, each day might present an entirely new set of circumstances where things like a personal history, something we all take for granted, is suddenly meaningless. (Keep reading)