Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 9, 1995 TAG: 9507100005
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARYLOU TOUSIGNANT THE WASHINTON POST
DATELINE: ANNANDALE LENGTH: Long
``I'm so excited,'' said the bride. ``How many people get to get married to the love of their life again a month after the first wedding?'' Then, turning to her three young nieces, decked out in their white wedding finery, she added, ``You girls look even prettier than the first time.''
The late June ceremony - complete with colorful wedding bouquets, a pianist playing ``Ave Maria,'' a Catholic priest and the bride's sister, nieces and nephew reprising their original April 29 wedding-party roles - took place at the Leewood Day Care Center in Annandale. There, Schratwieser's mother and about 30 other adults, most of them Alzheimer's patients, spend their weekdays engaged in activities that challenge their physical and mental abilities.
Alzheimer's disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the brain, resulting in confusion, memory lapses and, in its later stages, loss of complex language skills and motor coordination.
Joanne Schratwieser's condition was diagnosed three years ago, when she was 62. As she has grown more uncommunicative, her husband, Paul, said, it's difficult to know what she can recall, although he is fairly certain she remembers nothing of her youngest daughter's wedding at Church of the Resurrection in Rye, N.Y.
So Elaine and Rodger, both 27, decided to re-create it in front of her mother and two dozen of her friends in Leewood's adult day-care room, specially decorated as a chapel for the occasion.
The wedding, actually a renewal of the couple's vows, was the highlight of an annual June event in which members of the day-care program are encouraged to bring in photos and share their own wedding memories. And some did that before and after the ceremony.
Joyce Card, who isn't sure how old she is, recalled she got married when she was 18 to her childhood sweetheart, Andrew, as he was about to start at Dartmouth College. Clara McDaniel said she ``vaguely'' remembers marrying her husband, Robert, who died some time ago. She can't remember what she wore, though.
``Once it's past me, it's past me,'' she explained.
Even though memories of this ``wedding'' won't stay with most of the guests for long, Leewood's Donna Maglione said it was a valuable exercise.
``Our business is improving the quality of this moment, of this day,'' she said. ``And then we go on to the next day, the next moment.''
Co-director Kathy Barrett added that if the staff can string together enough happy moments for the participants, ``then by the time they leave here each day, they're buoyant, their spirits are lifted, and even though they can't tell their families why, they'll notice.''
For this happy occasion, the bridegroom, taking time away from his law firm, pulled out his navy blazer and gray slacks, the bride unpacked her silk dress, and her attendants as well as her parents all suited up again, marched down the aisle and listened as the Rev. Dennis Kleinmann of nearby St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church officiated while Elaine and Rodger renewed their vows.
The priest said it isn't too often that clerics are called on to renew two-month-old wedding vows. That necessitated a few ad-libs in the readings, as when he told the couple, ``You have been dauntless in facing the problems and difficulties'' of married life, then added, ``even in your two months together.''
The bride and groom just smiled through it all, their guests ooohing and aaahing in all the right places.
Elaine Schratwieser Currie, who works for the Heritage Foundation, a think tank in Washington, said it's difficult knowing that her mother may not remember her wedding.
``I like to think she does,'' the newlywed said. ``But since mom's friends at Leewood couldn't be with us, we thought we'd bring the wedding to them. I'm just thankful she's here and able to participate. With Alzheimer's patients, it's so important that their days are joyful.''
According to the Chicago-based Alzheimer's Association, as many as 4 million Americans have the disease, including one-tenth of those over 65 and nearly half of those over 85. It is one of the two most common forms of dementia.
The Schratwieser family has gotten involved in Alzheimer's awareness efforts, and Elaine and her sister Mary often stop by Leewood as part of the center's family of volunteers. Paul Schratwieser, a financial planner, said the center ``was a godsend to me,'' relieving him of some of the responsibility of providing the constant attention his wife needs. So he was pleased that his family was able to give a little back to Leewood.
Shortly before the ceremony began, he pulled his new son-in-law aside. ``You know,'' Schratwieser kidded him, ``if you do it a second time, there's definitely no backing out.''
``Don't worry,'' rejoined Currie. ``I'm looking forward to the second honeymoon.''
I'm just thankful she's here and able
to participate. With Alzheimer's patients, it's so important that their days are joyful.
by CNB