The Wearing of the Lilac

Terry Pratchett via last.fm

Today is a big day for geeks. First of all, and most broadly, it’s Geek Pride Day. Secondly, it’s the annual celebration of the works of Douglas Adams with Towel Day, with geeks the world over exhibiting their love of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

But all of that is just celebration and mass exhibiting of our inner geekiness. There is something geek related that is even more important today.  Today is the Glorious 25th of May, wherein fans of Terry Pratchett wear lilac on their breast to show their support of him in his struggle with Alzheimer’s, as well as to support Alzheimer’s research.

Just wearing flowers (or purple shirts, or purple towels, to combine the two events) might show a spirit of support, but it doesn’t really do anything to help people suffering from Alzheimer’s or their caregivers.

This is a cause that is close to my heart, to the point that it is difficult for me to write about without getting emotional. Alzheimer’s Disease runs in my family. All of my maternal grandmother’s sisters died suffering from some form of the disease, and she is currently in a nursing home, in the secured Alzheimer’s ward.

This is the woman who taught me how to write, and now she can barely speak a sentence. About the only understandable words she can manage now are “Yes” and “No.” But she laughs, oh how she laughs, now that she is beyond the point where she can realize what is going on in the world around her, what has happened to her.

In some ways, Alzheimer’s Disease is a disease which brings more pain to the caregivers and family than to the diseased, at least once that point is reached, where the dementia is so far progressed that the patient cannot realize their own state. My grandfather was her primary caregiver, before she went into the nursing home.  He has been fighting depression as a result of watching her in her steady decline and from the loneliness of having the woman he loves move so far away from him, and not just in a physical sense.

But she still knows him. When she doesn’t recognize anyone else, when she doesn’t know her daughters or grandchildren, she knows who he is, and he can still wring from her the biggest smiles.

The Wearing of the Lilac - for Memory

So while you’re celebrating your big geek holidays, I ask you to also put your money where your mouth is and do something that’s not just for show, that’s not just a towel over your shoulder or a flower on your lapel.  Do something that makes a real difference, no matter how small.

If you can spare a few dollars, head over to one of the Alzheimer’s research charities of your choice and give a donation today, in support of Mr. Pratchett and the many other people out there who suffer from Alzheimer’s, and the families that care for them. Do something important to celebrate your geekiness today.

UK Alzheimer’s Charities supported by Terry Pratchett:

• The RICE Centre: Terry Pratchett’s Alzheimer’s specialist, Professor Roy Jones, is the Director of this Research Institute
  http://www.rice.org.uk/
• The Alzheimer’s Research Trust: Terry Pratchett is a Patron of this leading Alzheimer’s research organization
  http://www.alzheimers-research.org.uk/
• The Alzheimer’s Society
  http://alzheimers.org.uk/site/index.php

USA Non-Profit Alzheimer’s Charities and Organizations:

• Alzheimer’s Foundation of America
• The Alzheimer’s Association
• The Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research

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Geekery, Life