I feel a bit richer after reading this. Thank you for taking time to write it.

Such a beautifully told reflection and story. Very grateful for your perspective. We have not had Mum tested for her memory loss - my brother is a doctor and only seems concerned by heart / stroke and not her cognitive abilities. I'm her caregiver and have set up my home to take care of her - we take it day by day. Most of all what I wanted to say is that although there is something child like coming to the fore - there seem to be many ways of knowing and wisdom that are at time hidden from casual observation - certainly not measured on an IQ test - something related to the heart as you say. I've been calling it heart memory - that seems to be unaffected by memory loss / dementia. There is also a distinctly mystical way of knowing and a deepening relationship with nature - with speaking to it - and it guiding her instead of the usual weighing of choices - more intuition. ALL the BEST to you!

Thank you for the well-written, thought-provoking article. I'm not Buddhist but my own spiritual path emphasizes focus on the Self which is our being in and of God rather than the small self which cares about such things as reputation.

Having said that, I want to add that I also believe you should see to the preservation of your overall life and contributions to the planet in order to provide a context for grandchildren to understand the impact of your disease. Is there someone in the family or a professional you could hire to write an illustrated history and/or make a video? Martti has you and now you in turn should have a champion for your legacy. God bless.