Response to Bill Gates
Norma-Jean Strickland
Writer, Educator, Editor, Subject Matter Expert, Musician, Positive Change Activist, Idea Generator | Open to New Opportunities
I am responding to an article or announcement that was recently posted by Bill Gates that can be found at the following link:
https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/why-im-investing-fight-against-alzheimers-bill-gates/
Mr. Gates, I am thrilled that you and your foundation are investing in this important research, so thank you. I am responding to your article because I want to remind everyone that healthcare needs to take a holistic approach in order to treat the whole person, body-mind-spirit, and that a “one size fits all” approach to healthcare is not always appropriate. I have a medical-legal background and have worked with people with disabilities in a variety of capacities for the majority of my adult life. I grew up living on state hospital grounds that provided housing for staff. Both my parents were healthcare professionals, my father being a non-denominational minister and my mother being a registered nurse. My very early childhood observations of patients with mental illness and other conditions taught me to see the whole person, which has subsequently served me well in my work.
My father is now 91 years of age and is in fantastic condition physically because he has been devoted to exercise almost daily for many years. In this regard, he is an inspiration and I am very proud of him. However, he was diagnosed with mild dementia in 2013 which has slowly progressed and he is currently emotionally fragile. After his second wife’s death almost two years ago, circumstances surrounding that 45-year marriage (half his life) have come to light which I believe help explain his current emotional and mental health. I will not go into detail except to say that my father has expressed tremendous regret for his inability to stand up to his wife during this entire marriage. He has expressed untold remorse for allowing her to take control of his life because he didn’t want to rock the boat. He was terrified that a second divorce would affect his professional life as a minister, plus he was simply afraid of being alone in life. All this regret and remorse was hidden and unexpressed until he came to live with me after her death.
It is my heartfelt belief that unexpressed anger and resentment have a debilitating effect on a person’s life. Add to that an inability to forgive one’s self for whatever seeming personality weaknesses exist and you have a recipe for forgetting everything unpleasant that has ever happened to you. It’s so much easier to forget than to admit painful imperfection. After all, we live in a society that is obsessed with perfection in all its forms, which we are reminded of with every television commercial and magazine advertisement. Doing inner work is hard, but it’s the only place you can go to reach the deep authentic self. That’s what is missing in our society and that’s what is missing in the general healthcare setting today.
So, in addition to whatever scientific research can reveal in finding a cure for Alzheimer’s and other related conditions, please don’t forget that there’s a real person who exists underneath the skin and bones. It’s the person who needs to be addressed, not just the condition.
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Article 2017 ? by Norma-Jean Strickland