Published: December 20, 2008 09:43 pm            

Mark Pace: Resonating love and sorrow

Alzheimer’s Christmas Memory Trees keeping survivors remembering

The Yuletide season brings its reflections of recent and long-ago Christmases with Mom and Dad, brothers and sisters.

Memories. The lighted and brightly decorated Christmas trees of home.

Memories. Family members, with colorful gifts, assembling with excitement and joy to celebrate together the birth of Christ, the Savior for the future sake of humans who seek repentance, forgiveness and mercy.

Memories. The lighted and brightly decorated Memory Christmas tree in the Alzheimer’s Association Dalton office reflects not only the scenes above, but personal effects that come with those decorations.

The bright green foliage of that tree is decked with Yuletide colors and memories.

There are passionate feelings among surviving family members and friends who place items amid the branches of a now heavily loaded Christmas tree. At that scene tears have been shed with memories of pain, but with hearts of love that likewise reflect loneliness.

Sorrow, lonely hearts, and silent and audible prayers are prevalent. But there is more — and yet, amid the sorrow over the unbelievable predeath pain and suffering of a loved one stricken with Alzheimer’s, there likewise is a thankfulness for a risen Christ.

Too, the classification and the name, CHRISTmas, gives an everlasting meaning and purpose of its identity.

Each year, for the past nine years, the Alzheimer’s Memory Tree has been a beautiful symbol of both sorrow and joy as it stands, shrouded with decorations. Glowing colorful lights reflect in the eyes of the viewers — for some, their sadness, and hopefully there is the glitter that verifies beliefs of the biblical promise of resurrection that soothes those in grief.

In 2000 when Freda Stevenson assumed the position as director of development at the local Alzheimer’s Association chapter, she envisioned a memory tree there in the Christmas season on which families and caregivers could place on the tree an ornament of their choosing or a picture of a departed loved one whose life was taken by the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease. An Alzheimer’s patient, Duane Spires of Cedartown, helped decorate the first tree.

“We have been amazed at the number of people who have participated,” said Mrs. Stevenson.

Simultaneously, she and other chapter personnel, as well as the 12-member advisory board, express their appreciation to those who have actively shown deep interest, not only in the Memory Tree, but in the annual fundraising Memory Walks each year to raise funds for operation of the Alzheimer’s program.

Unfortunately, the Memory Walk this year is short by more than $7,000 of meeting its goal, she said.

The Association, said Mrs. Stevenson, “does not have the funds to purchase a Christmas tree.”

She said the existing tree was donated in 2000 by Martha Ann Babb, 67. Miss Babb died Dec. 11 at Hamilton Medical Center.

The present tree, bejeweled with love, dampened by tears, now is too small to hold the growing number of ornaments. It will be replaced next Christmas by a larger tree, already promised by a donor.

All of the present ornaments will be replaced by persons who placed them over years past, and/or by the local Alzheimer’s Association’s dedicated personnel of Mrs. Stevenson; Laurie Parker, director of programs, and Sandy Blackwell, administrative assistant.

        

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