The Silent Flute
A Walk in the Footsteps of Alzheimer's Disease
by
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Bobby is in the Music Room playing Monopoly with his grandfather when Kathryn walks in carrying a bowl of peas.
“Who didn’t eat their peas?” she asks angrily.
“I ate mine,” Bobby answers quickly. “It was Grandpa; I saw, he didn’t eat his.”
“Why are you always trying to get me into trouble, Tommy?” Grandpa complains.
Kathryn walks over to her father and hands him the bowl of peas and a spoon. She tells him, as she has many times before, that he must eat his peas for the nutrition. He looks completely put out by her demand because he doesn’t like peas. He simply takes the bowl from her without responding.
“Mom,” Bobby says as he follows his mother toward the door. “How come Grandpa keeps calling me Tommy?”
“Tommy was Grandpa’s brother. He died a long time ago—even before you were born.”
“But why is he calling me Tommy?” Bobby asks as they stop at the doorway.
“Well, we need to talk about that. Grandpa is sick.”
Meanwhile, Grandpa is unaware of the conversation taking place on the other side of the room. He is holding the bowl of peas and poking at them with his fingers.
“What’s wrong with him?” Bobby asks.
“He has what’s called Alzheimer’s disease.”
“Old timer’s disease. What’s that?”
“Not ‘old timer’s’” says Kathryn. “Alz-hi-mers. It just means that he gets very forgetful, and sometimes he doesn’t seem like Grandpa. But never think that he doesn’t still love you—he does. He loves you very much.”
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About the Book
A family attempts to deal with the changes in a beloved family member due to Alzheimer’s Disease as he goes from being an independent, world-renowned flautist to a man needing full-time professional care.
About the Author
Todd Hubley was born in New Jersey in 1973. He spent his formative years, grades 6-12, living with his family in Japan before setting off to get a degree in film from San Francisco State University. Later, Todd returned to school and earned an MBA from Seton Hall University.
Today, Todd lives in New York City and works in the financial services industry. As a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional, a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor®, and a Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor®, he works with individuals and organizations to plan, implement, and monitor progress toward specific financial goals. He also holds FINRA licenses in the Series 7, 9, 10, 24, and 66 as well as state licenses in life, accident, health and long term care insurance.