Archives for July 2011

Glenn Campbell has just performed his first concert since announcing that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer (the degenerative brain disease that slowly rob people of their memories and abilities). I cannot imagine what thoughts must have been running around his mind when he first took to the stage.

Glen Campbell leaned over his blue electric guitar, plucked a few strings and made a sour face.
“Dadgum it,” he said.
Campbell fiddled a few seconds longer while standing backstage at the IP Casino and finally found a perfect D chord.
“There it is,” he said, before turning on his heel and marching into the spotlight. He launched into “Gentle on my Mind” and — without so much as clearing his throat — nailed it.

“That first one is a doozey, ain’t it?” Campbell asked the crowd. AP

Now that would have been quite the emotional show for all who were in attendance that night in Biloxi, Miss.

I’ve read that he may have missed that odd word here or there but his teleprompter was his saving grace that show. Heck, I’ve been known to have done that from time to time accompanied with that one word I follow it with “Damn it!” Good for Glenn, I hope that he can enjoy his God given talent as long as he can.

For a guitarist/musician/singer-songwriter like Glenn Campbell, this disease must feel like someone coming up to you and hitting you in the heart with a sledgehammer. While I’m not getting any younger, I find myself once in a while walking in a room and forgetting what I went in there for and I’m sure you can find examples in your own life. I can only speculate at what he is going through.

Alzheimer, it seems to me, is a disease that appears to be coming at us as a society from all directions. It has affected a direct family member, a very dear friend’s own loving father and countless patients that I have had direct dealings with over the years.

I have seen it tear away and disregard peoples memories at will with no fear of the consequences! It not only has devastating affects on the patient themselves but their loved ones as well. If you know someone who has a loved one with this unimaginable disease, give them a hug … because they need it too!

If you feel like giving a simple donation to the Alzheimer of Canada society, check out their secure site and give a simple donation to the cause, one day you might need their help too.