There was once a young man
Who lived a prime life
He had it all;
Wealth, health, and even good looks

But let me tell you the story
Of how his life collapsed
How he fell down hard, never to get up
Never to really see the world in the same way that he had

His life started out as an infant of privileges
He was served and soothed
Cuddled and warmed
He was loved by all, doted on by many

He grew up a cute toddler
Then a handsome young boy
His talents became apparent
He was an enviable friend; those that were worthy were lucky

He was kind and smart
It sounds like he’s made-up
It sounds like his personality
Is too good to be true




But I tell you with assurance
That he was very much real

As you will soon see
This boy was almost…I guess you can say he was a part of me

An attractive teenager
Confident and with a swagger
Popular, but nice
A partyer, yet well-behaved

College took to him nicely
It was there that he met his match
He married his lovely and beautiful wife
Had kids and….yeah, life was good

His life was planned out
And surprisingly going according to plan
He was a compassionate doctor
Successful and hard-working

He spent hours on research
Working for a better cause;
He gathered information on the brain
Never satisfied until the work was done




But at the same time
He had abundant time with his kids
He was the world’s greatest dad
And soon to be grandfather

His family spread out all around him
He couldn’t ask for more
Content with life, love, and happiness
Everything was great, fine, dandy

However, one day, something just cracked
His brain went kind of haywire
Something fizzled inside him and then erupted
A storm was coming, strong, and no one even knew

One fine summer day as he was mowing the lawn
He spotted his grandkids,
Running towards him with smiling excitement that mirrored his own
He opened his arms to greet them; wide and encompassing hugs

Then as his arms closed around his loved ones
Irony played a most glorious trick on this genius of a man
His brain went on white noise for just a moment, and then it sputtered and gasped
Then his brain popped a last “Aha!” flash of breath and his memory was thus blurry and unfocused; and kind of dead



The “he” in this story is really me
He is the one that I used to claim as myself
But now…I don’t really know who I am
I’m hazy about myself, my memories, and my life

I hear the doctors sometimes
I hear how they describe me
I hear shadowy whispers and indistinct words
But one word stands out to me more than all

That word now escapes me
But I’ll remember it soon
Its starts with an A…I think
Alzheimer’s? Dementia? Oh, I forget.

You see, I really am a brain researcher
Please believe me
I know the secrets of the brain
And I know the answers; I know what’s wrong with me!

Please, please listen to me
I beg you
Look into my brain
Find that last “Aha!” moment




I was almost there
I almost made my big discovery
Alzheimer’s underlying secret was in my palms
But then my hands got slippery with disease and it was lost forever

You see, I am the “He”
I am that young, striking image of a man
I am beloved, by wife and family, and even friends and colleagues
I am about to become famous with my scientific breakthroughs
I am a man of accomplishments…or I was?

I was a great man
I was a man and boy of noble mannerisms
I was a man who never gave up or failed
I didn’t fail.
My memory failed me.