Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/09/07
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Every September I make an emotional trip to Philadelphia to see my sister. When she was very young she contracted encephalitis, a very severe case, which left her severely damaged. I also go other times but during the first week of September they have a formal assessment of her condition and her needs. She was admitted to the care of the Devereoux Foundation in the early 50's where she has resided since. My mother was no longer truly sane after her illness and the doctors felt she, and me, would do better if Ann were in an institution. Devereoux take wonderful care of her. When my mother died in 1985 it became my task to care for the sister I never knew. Ann has had a bad time with a kidney infection but has rebounded. She has almost no language although she can sing songs she learned when she was very small. She cannot construct sentences although she can manipulate a small set of phrases to convey meaning. She likes to leaf through catalogs and hold little toys or stuffed animals. She exists in some unknown space for the mind - recognizing people, clearly getting pleasure from the site of a duck or dog or cat or a deer that may come up to the building where she lives. (Her campus is surrounded by the suburban woods around Devon, PA) But the larger world is lost to her. This is Ann, my sister. <http://www.adambridge.com/Photos/2005/09/07/_L3U5649-bw.jpg> Thank you for sharing. (Canon 1Ds MK II, 24-70f/2.8L, ASA 400, 1/320 @ f2.8) Adam