The Beautiful Angel

My mom began showing signs of Alzheimer's Disease in her late 60's and it became quite noticeable by her early 70's. Her mother also had the disease and so did her brother, who was a year younger then her. She was definitely the wind beneath my wings....so giving, so loving and just so compassionate. Towards the end of her fight she identified me as her mother and it made me so proud because my grandmother was just like my mom. One day when I was about to leave after visiting her in a nursing home, I heard her talking to someone. This was strange because my mother could barely speak anymore. I walked back into her room and she appeared to be looking towards the far wall in awe. I asked her what she saw and she clearly stated that she saw "a beautiful angel...simply gorgeous". I asked her where the angel was and she said that she was " in a place so beautiful that she just couldn't describe its beauty". She then reached out her hand and quickly pulled it back and said, "No". I asked her who she saw and she said "my mother". She was speaking like a mother would to her child...a little frustrated with me for interrupting her discussion with the angel, and also speaking clearly, concisely, and definitely nothing like a women who was in the last stages of Alzheimer's Disease. That was on a Sunday afternoon and my mother passed away on Thursday of the same week after showing signs that she was failing just two days after she told me she saw an angel and her mother. I write this to give those going through this horrible disease with their loved one hope in knowing that they will be once again whole and the same beautiful person who they knew and loved before Alzheimer Disease took them away day by day. Am I worried? Yes, but I know that the beautiful angel that visits me as I am close to crossing over might just be my beautiful mother.

Anonymous
Marietta, GA