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Loving Enough To Let Things Be

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 16, 2007

Whatever one thinks of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's jurisprudence, one can only admire the way she has handled her beloved husband's surrender to Alzheimer's Disease.

This week NBC News and other media outlets revealed that John O'Connor has a girlfriend, another Alzheimer's patient at the Arizona assisted living facility where both live. The news reports showed footage of the two holding hands. In the twilight of his illness, Mr. O'Connor found solace in someone like him.

Justice O'Connor's son, Scott, said his mother is pleased that his father is comfortable in his surroundings and not jealous of his special friendship with the woman called Kay.

Millions of people live with the hard realities and heartbreak associated with Alzheimer's disease, but many of us were caught unaware that patients in the late stages of Alzheimer's can still find love, still seek intimacy, even as memories of those they have long loved recede.

Justice O'Connor was not interviewed on camera, and she declined requests to talk about her husband.

But without her consent, this sad but heartfelt story would not have been told. For that, we simply say, thanks.

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