Dave and Carol had been...
Illustration
Dave and Carol had been married for 55 years when Carol began to have severe memory loss problems. Up until that point in their marriage, Dave and Carol had done everything together. They worked as one developing 33 acres into prime, fruit-bearing land. They raised four children. They worked as one in their church. Everyone who knew them commented that they worked together as one. This was never so apparent as it was during the last four years of Dave's life. Carol was told that she had Alzheimer's Disease. She was frightened by what was going to happen to her. As the disease progressed and she became increasingly forgetful, Dave quietly assumed more and more of the household tasks. His goal was to take care of Anne in such a way that she would not be hurt by anyone or anything. Two years later, Dave had a tumor the size of a basketball removed from his large intestine. Unfortunately the doctor nicked the large intestine in such a way that Dave only had six inches left. This meant that in addition to chemotherapy, Dave had problems keeping food in his system long enough to benefit from it. As Dave grew increasingly weaker, Carol grew more forgetful. During the times when Carol realized that she was unable to care for Dave or herself, she would say to Dave, "What good am I when I can't even take care of you?" Dave's answer was simple. You are my strength and I am your memory. We'll work together now, in the same way as we've always worked -- as one.
-- Conroy
-- Conroy
