Recently I attended an event called Women of Faith.  Yes, I know I am not a woman but I have faith, so I partly qualify.  I came away amazed at the examples of excellent communication I had seen.

First, thank you to all of you who responded to my post “What would Pat Robertson have Done with my Father.”  

To date there were over 467 comments on the post.  I had no idea that this issue would touch such a cord in the hearts of so many people.  I also had no idea how many people are living with the heartbreak of family and friends facing Alzheimer’s disease.

Because I am unable to respond individually to the hundreds of comments I received, I will address them here.  This will be my last post concerning Pat Robertson’s comments.

I had been traveling relentlessly and had just spent a sleepless night in a hotel room with an air conditioner that sounded like a pterodactyl with an abscessed tooth.  Now I was waiting to speak at an awards ceremony for KCARC, a wonderful caring organization dedicated to serving individuals with disabilities. A delayed flight had caused me to walk into the room just as the ceremony was beginning and I was in a nasty mood. 

This may be one of the most personal blogs I have ever written.

I was stunned by Pat Robertson’s recent proclamation that  a man is free to divorce his wife if she has Alzheimer’s disease, on the pretense that “She is not there.”  I am compelled to respond because if I remain silent, I do a disservice to my family and my father.

You see, my dad went to heaven after suffering from Alzheimer’s for over five years.  In the end he recognized no one, and could carry on no meaningful conversation.  His every need had to be taken care of by others.   He spent much time staring blankly into space.

The morning of 9/12 was marked by a deep sorrow.  So many innocent lives had been lost on 9/11, the day before.  But for many that day also marked another tragedy.  It was a day millions of people became paralyzed………. by fear.

The most outward demonstration of this fear was the silence in the skies.  All flights in the United States had been suspended.  Although I appreciated the attempts of our government to keep us safe, I was dismayed at the irrational fear of flying, or shopping, or being in a public place.  The enemy’s greatest victory that day was the resulting plague of fear that spread across the country in response to their horrible actions.