So far I have not blogged about anything remotely controversial, but today I feel the need to voice my concern about comments made recently by Rev. Pat Roberston concerning Alzheimers.     On the 700 Club, a viewer wrote in seeking Rev. Robertson`s advice about a friend who was dating a women after his wife developed Alzheimers disease.  Rev. Robertson responded, ``I know it sounds cruel, but if he`s going to do something, he should divorce her and start all over again, but make sure she has custodial care and somebody looking after her.``  When the co-host probed about marriage vows, specifically ``for better or for worse`` and ``in sickness and in health``, Rev. Robertson replied, ``If you respect that vow, you say `til death do us part.  This is a kind of death.``  To say that I was shocked, disgusted, and saddened by these comments is an understatement. 
 
I`ll admit that my husband does not have Alzheimers, and I am years away from old age, so I have never been in that man`s shoes.  But, I did watch Alzheimers slowly take my grandmother, and she was alive until the moment of her death.  As the disease progressed she was more and more unresponsive.  She used to smile with such delight when I came to visit with the kids, but in the later stages it was as if she was looking right through them.  When I gave her a straw to help her drink, she chewed on it like a piece of hay instead of using it to drink.  Was she the same person I remember when I was young?  No.  But, was she dead?  Of course not.  To say otherwise is a crime against all those suffering from this terrible disease. 
 
Sadly, this man is not the only who chooses to believe that it is okay to leave your vows when your spouse becomes ill.  I know of a situation in which a man would visit his wife in the nursing home with his girlfriend.  In reading articles about the Rev. Robertson comments, I came across an interesting fact  - feelings are the last to leave a person suffering from Alheimers. 
 
In an on-line poll, the 87% of respondents indicated that divorcing a spouse with Alzheimer is not morally justified.   Thankfully, most people disagree with Rev. Robertson.