Awakenings: In Real Life

For my family, the 1990 drama is not just a movie.

Based on the true story of Dr. Oliver Sacks, Penny Marshall’s drama Awakenings (1990) centers on Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) and his patient Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro). In the film, Sayer uses a drug designed to treat Parkinson’s Disease to awaken catatonic patients in a Bronx hospital. The most dramatic and amazing results are found in Leonard. Although Leonard completely awakens, the results are temporary, and he reverts to his catatonic state.

Dr. Sayer tells a group of hospital grant donors that although Leonard’s “awakening” did not last, another type of awakening — learning to appreciate and live life — took place. While not as dramatic as the movie, my Dad, who suffers from severe Dementia, recently awakened.

On June 1, 2015, I published “I Wish I Could Flip a Switch and Wake Up My Father — My Perspective on Dementia/Alzheimer’s.” In it, I describe my family’s experiences with my father who suffers from Dementia (as a result of a stroke 10 years earlier) and how, over time, the stages get progressively worse.