I was with my father at a clinic near his home for a routine blood test. An elderly woman came in and sat on a1 room chair. She settled into the seat opposite my dad and smiled at him and he smiled back 2. He was 77 years old and had been living with Alzheimer disease for several years. It's a disease that 3 your loved ones, slowly, day by day and the memory loss is painful and4.
After a while, she started singing the tune My Heart Will Go On. Since Alzheimer disease also has
a(n)5to damage a person's patience, I couldn't help thinking that this little woman was playing with fire. Her singing began gently. I glanced at Dad to see his 6. His smile was gone, and he was7 right at her. I couldn't read his expression initially, but it seemed to be something like 8. I wondered if he was lost somewhere in his memory, or maybe he was trying to figure out whether this was someone he should 9. Slowly, the woman's singing got louder and her eyes closed with10. Now Dad looked a little shocked. Still, I watched nervously, noticing the 11 of an angry outburst and was considering my options on how best to 12 in. Instead, his face changed, and the tension13 in his eyes. He no longer looked confused.
When her song ended and the waiting room became 14, the woman opened her eyes. My dad was still looking directly at her. "That was beautiful," he said. 15, she smiled and said, "Thank you."
