Man With Alzheimer's Remembers Wife Through Music

A determined Alzheimer’s sufferer fights the disease with the sound of music - dancing around his living room to he and his wife’s favorite songs despite his deteriorating memory. Donald Bergner, 83, has forgotten almost everyone including children, friends, neighbors and grandkids, but the one person he remembers is wife Joanie, who he connects to through music and dance. Filmed in the couple’s home in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, Donald dances around to the sounds of old-time favorites, such as those of Glen Miller and other big-band classic. He has been suffering with Alzheimer's for 11 years, and over the past five years his memory has deteriorated far more rapidly. Donald's granddaughter Sophia Bergner, who shot the uplifting video, revealed moments like this provide a sense of triumph over adversity. Many times, Joanie, 81, has walked in on Donald dancing to old-time favorites and uses it as a way to help her cope with the disease, too, sometimes dancing together.

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