Faces of Alzheimer’s disease: The Descent of William Utermohlen

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. It complicates an individual’s thinking, behavior and memory. It progresses and gets worse over time and continues to take effect for the rest of the person’s life. For decades, people affected by this disease have been accurately documented across the world.

One great example is the story of William Utermohlen. An essential perception of reality, a powerful testament to what it means to be human. This is a story of one man’s struggle against Alzheimer’s and his unwavering dignity and dedication.

William Utermohlen was a popular British artist. He was a successful artist who once spent his whole life in the arts of painting and drawing. Just like every human, artist or not, William lived a normal life until 1995. It was the year when William, 61, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimer’s is undoubtedly a terrible diagnosis and disorder for anyone, but it didn’t hinder the artist to leave a heartfelt statement to us all.

Before his death in 2007, William began to work on a series of self-portraits, applying what he mastered over the years. Despite of the potent decrease of his motor skills, perception and memory, William still managed to give us an artistic result of his struggles with Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s is doubtlessly a terrible and heart-breaking disorder. As it steals the memory from people, it also steals our loved ones away from us even before they die. William Utermohlen is the epitome of courage as he fought with this said disease even for the fact that it slowly took away his gift in the art of painting.

Here is a video of William’s wife, Patricia Utermohlen, discussing her late husband’s works:

As Alzheimer’s continued to steal his perceptions on things, he still continued doing what he love and what William obtained as the process presented its potency was concurrently heart-breaking, moving, insightful and inspirational.