i heart faces…Chicago Photographer…The Face of Alzheimer’s

Date
Apr, 03, 2011

I recently returned from a visit with my 90 year old Grandparents.  It was a wonderful visit.  I’m always amazed at how quickly I regress to a little girl the minute that I see them.  Even though my Grandma is 90, in my mind I see her as that 60 year old Grandma who loved to go camping, travel and cook for the ones she loves.  The Grandma with the softest skin and the sweetest smile.  My Grandma makes each of us feel like we are the most special grandchild in the world.  In fact we’ve all had heated discussions of who REALLY is her favorite (of course I’m sure it’s me).  It takes a special kind of woman to make people feel loved the way she does.  The image below is a wonderful example of that love.  I was blessed to have captured it and to be able to share it with you.  See, the image below is of my Grandma and Grandpa.  Grandpa has Alzheimer’s and he has been in the VA home for a little over a year now.  For the most part he doesn’t recognize  many of his family members.  In fact on most days when he sees you he just smiles sweetly as if he has just met a new potential friend.  But as you can see his demeanor changes the minute that he sees my Grandma.  He relaxes at the touch of her hand and he  looks at her like he has just seen the most beautiful woman in the world.  It’s amazing to me that even after 69 years of marriage, illness and separation their love is as strong as ever.  We can all only hope to be blessed with that kind of love in our lifetime. 

Grandpa and Grandma True Love

“Nothing is more beautiful than the love that has weathered the storms of life.
The love of the young for the young, that is the beginning of things new.
But the love of the old for the old, that is the beginning of things longer.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

admin

55 Comments

  1. Carol

    April 3, 2011

    What a beautiful photograph and story!

  2. Casey

    April 3, 2011

    This is just lovely.

  3. admin

    April 3, 2011

    Thank you Carol and Casey! I feel blessed to have them both in my life.

  4. angie

    April 3, 2011

    So sweet. Beautiful capture.

  5. Carol Strawn

    April 3, 2011

    Now that is a very moving shot and story! Love! 🙂

  6. Caroline (Frogmum)

    April 3, 2011

    This picture is simply awesome ~ so tender and beautifully full of emotion! Such ‘young love’ captured for all time 🙂

  7. Tonya

    April 3, 2011

    Such a beautiful photo & story. You made me cry.

  8. Kristen

    April 3, 2011

    I LOVE this!!!!!!!!!!! How precious! This gets my vote for sure!

  9. Rachel

    April 4, 2011

    What a privilege… to witness that and to capture it. Thank you for sharing!

  10. jennifer

    April 4, 2011

    precious capture & beautiful story. your entry is so inspiring. i keep coming back to it 🙂

  11. Mindy

    April 4, 2011

    this is an amazingly beautiful picture. you can see the joy in his eyes and yes, you can see the comfort and recognition he has. im voting for this photo!

  12. Jama Pantel

    April 4, 2011

    My great-grandma had Alzheimer’s too and only looked at my dad that way. I wish I had a picture to capture what you did. You have my vote for sure!! Thanks for sharing.

  13. Diana

    April 4, 2011

    This is wonderful! The expression on his face as she caresses him is simply breathtaking. Such love and peace and joy. I am in love with it!

  14. Annie

    April 4, 2011

    I love this moment! It reminds me so much of my Grandparents. Beautiful Job!

  15. angie {the arthur clan}

    April 6, 2011

    Everything about your entry is just wonderful. Brought back beautiful memories of my own grandparents!

  16. Carez Crnkovic

    April 6, 2011

    This is a beautiful photograph, so much emotion – an award winner!

  17. Kristin

    April 6, 2011

    How amazing and touching! My grandmother passed away almost 10 years ago. We lost her first to this horrible disease though. It was so painful for everyone involved. How wonderful it would have been to have had the good moments captured to look back on. This truly is a treasure!

  18. pamela

    April 6, 2011

    Brought tears to my eyes…my grandmother had the same gift and oh how I miss being looked at like I am the most important person in the room in her eyes.

  19. Alissa

    April 6, 2011

    Really beautiful…the picture and the love portrayed.

  20. Victoria

    April 6, 2011

    What a tear-jerker of an image; without a word it tells a story. Beautiful job! And your story made me tear up and think of the movie “The Notebook,” my all-time fav. movie. This definitely belongs on the wall {and in a big way}!

  21. mallory

    April 6, 2011

    ahh, gives me chills. touched my heart on so many levels. love it!

  22. Adrienne

    April 6, 2011

    Coming by from I ♥ Faces–just had to tell you how much I loved this post and your photo. You got my vote!

  23. Francine Mittenthal

    April 6, 2011

    I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed to win this week’s competition. I’m now hoping you will. This is beautiful, heartwarming, tear-jerking, raw, perfection.

  24. Michele Q

    April 6, 2011

    This is just wonderful. What a great great capture. So touching.

  25. Chera

    April 6, 2011

    I had to clear up the tears from my eyes so that I could type to tell you how beautiful this is. True beauty.

  26. Susie

    April 6, 2011

    Stunning image and story.

  27. admin

    April 6, 2011

    What an unexpected treat to wake up this morning to all of these amazing blog comments! You all made my day! I so want everyone to know my grandparents and this was as close as I could come to that wish. Thanks again from the bottom of my heart!

  28. Eliza

    April 6, 2011

    This portrait is so beautiful. What a lovely memory that your family will have to hold onto. Both of my grandparents suffered from Alzheimers too 🙁

  29. drdesigns

    April 6, 2011

    Thanks for posting this wonderful photo. It touched my heart. My mom has this terrible disease and we’re trying our best to keep her in her home as long as possible. Some days are very stressful and some days are rewarding. I see the love between these two people when I look at this image and it give me hope.

  30. Reena

    April 6, 2011

    beautiful

  31. Lisa

    April 6, 2011

    This picture just brought me to tears… how incredibly touching and what a precious gift that you have to keep…

    Thank you SO much for sharing it with us!

    Lisa J.

  32. JennyO

    April 6, 2011

    Such a deep emotion caught in one “click” – I was tearing up just seeing the pick and grabbing a tissue when I read your explanation. Love it, thank you so much for sharing

  33. Christy

    April 6, 2011

    stunning and beautiful

  34. DITA

    April 6, 2011

    Breathtakingly Beautiful………

  35. Tiffany

    April 6, 2011

    Your photograph captured their love so throughly it is almost tangible. What a fantastic gift you have (in both your talent and your grandparents.) Many blessings to you all.

  36. DITA

    April 6, 2011

    Breathtakingly Beautiful…

  37. Katie Bray

    April 6, 2011

    What an amazing photograph. Words cannot express how much I love this image!

  38. Ashley Vickery

    April 6, 2011

    Ohhh, this just made me tear up at my desk. How dare you make me cry at work!! 😉

  39. ellen

    April 6, 2011

    I,too remember them when they were young and vital. I went with your mom to their house several times. The photo is beautiful.

  40. Jamie

    April 6, 2011

    So beautiful, Alicia. Your story, the picture, the quote, just so poignant. It brings tears to my eyes…what a loving and lovely tribute.

  41. Carol M.

    April 6, 2011

    I’m absolutely speechless. Stunning!

  42. MaryJo

    April 6, 2011

    how beautiful….and what a blessing that they still have each other !

  43. Karin Griffin

    April 6, 2011

    Absolutely beautiful! The processing, sharpness, expression and REALNESS of the photo. Love it! It cannot be easy for the caretaker, but the sweet love between the couple is so evident!

  44. Julie (Wellblessed)

    April 6, 2011

    This is one of the most beautiful photographs I’ve ever seen. Not just because it’s technically wonderful or captures a sweet moment (which it does) but because I’m immediately in love with this pair and tears come to my eyes. Most excellent photo and how lucky you are to have two beautiful grandparents!

  45. Michelle Kirnan

    April 6, 2011

    I’m speechless and in tears…both your photo and your story are so incredibly moving!

  46. Gaby

    April 6, 2011

    Beautiful!

  47. Jamie

    April 6, 2011

    Simply beautiful, Alicia – your story, your picture, the quote – so lovely and loving…

  48. Laurie Pollpeter Eskenazi

    April 7, 2011

    Alicia, this is simply wonderful!!! What a touching image and you have such a gift to be able to capture the feeling and emotions. So much talent, so much talent

  49. lydee

    April 10, 2011

    beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

  50. LibraryGirl62

    April 11, 2011

    This made me tear up~my grandpa passed away from Alzheimer’s several years ago. My grandmother was devoted to him until the very last second of his life.

  51. Sherry

    April 13, 2011

    Oh my goodness. This seriously made me cry. I LOVED this picture when I saw it, but after reading your story, how touching! This is absolutely beautiful and will be a very cherished picture I’m sure!

  52. Jaira

    April 13, 2011

    Preciosa foto, no imaginas lo impactante que ha sido para muchos de nosotros.
    Por estas fotografías, por momentos como este me hice fotógrafa.

  53. admin

    April 13, 2011

    Gracias Jaira!

  54. Johanna Filla

    January 15, 2012

    absolutely beautiful!

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