Alexander Strachan’s grandmother had been living with Alzheimer’s disease for several years, and she had reached the point where she couldn’t verbalize much and often didn’t recognize her family.
One day in 2009, when she was in the hospital, Alexander brought his violin—an instrument he had been playing since age 10—and played “How Great Thou Art,” one of his grandmother’s favorite hymns. She had grown up singing and playing the piano in church and, hearing that familiar music, she perked up and started singing along.
Wow, I need to do this more often, thought Alexander, of Bowie, Maryland…