[Granville-Hough] 21 Mar 2009 - 2004 Message for Dorothy

[Trustees for Granville W. Hough]

Date: Sat, 21 Mar 2009 05:13:34 -0800
From: Granville W Hough <gwhough at oakapple.net>
Subject: 2004 Message for Dorothy - 21 March 2009

Three years ago I responded to sister-in-law Dorothy Neville about my 
efforts in Bible Study for Alzheimer's patients.  We had often wondered 
how much Carol really heard and understood when she was in her last year 
of that disease.  Here is what I wrote:
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     The Bible Study effort in the final analysis is therapy for me.  The
ladies who attended, 8 or 9 last week, looked like they were half
asleep, and I guess they were.
     But it reminds me of a story a lady told me about Carol in the
Alzheimer's home.  She visited her  friend in the next room to Carol on
different days and I seldom saw her.  She told me that she often spoke
to Carol and asked about her family.  Carol would carefully explain that
her husband came each Sunday and took her to Church and that he came
during the week and read all the letters he had received, especially
those from her sister in Texas.
     The lady checked with the caretakers and learned that this was
indeed true.
     Now, when I visited Carol and read her letters from you, she would 
seem to
doze off, or she would seem to remember only one person or phrase from
your letter; so I could never be sure how much she was really getting.
The truth is, she was getting nearly everything and could explain the
essence of it to strangers.
     So it is like this when I talk to the people in Bible Study.  My
format is very simple: One song, "My Country, Tis of Thee," 5 charts or
points, then "The Lord's Prayer" in music.  It is like reading a letter
to Carol.  Are they getting any of the points?  I don't know; but I feel
as if I am talking to Carol.  If the ladies remember anything the
following week, that is wonderful.  But it isn't necessary.  The therapy
is as much for me as it is for them.
     No, I have no larger ambitions about a worldwide audience.  What God
has granted me is a very small talent, mostly inadequate for the task at
hand.  But I am thankful I can do it in memory of Carol.
     With love to all, Grampa.