After longing for a nursing degree all of my life, I earned it at the age of 57, and it's a great source of pride to me. I read all of your issues eagerly and was especially touched by "A Place for Agnes" (Sharing, June 2006), a story about a patient with severe Alzheimer's disease. I've always believed that caring for a patient with Alzheimer's disease is perhaps the hardest job of all, and I was profoundly moved by this nurse's sensitivity to her patient.
Early in my nurse's training, I heard terrible screaming from a patient's room. Hurrying to see what the problem could be, I found the saddest-looking man I'd ever seen trying to feed his wife lunch. Between spoonfuls, she was screaming angrily at him. Looking up at me, he explained quietly, "She has Alzheimer's."
Dorine Braunschweiger, LPN
Teaneck, N.J.