About a third of those who take care of loved ones with the disease feel 'more religious' because of their experiences, a new national study says.

一項全國性新研究指出，約三分之一照護生病親人者，由於本身的經驗而覺得「更能接受宗教」。

Each morning Frances Chavis sneaks out of her house for 6 a.m. prayer, hoping to get back before her husband wakes up.

法蘭西絲．查維斯每天清晨偷溜出門去參加清晨六點的祈禱會，希望在她丈夫醒來前趕回家。

Chavis, whose husband Lemuel, 72, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2003, spends her days as a "shadow" — watching over her husband and the house, making sure everything is done correctly — and, when she can, she naps.

查維斯的丈夫雷繆爾今年72歲，醫師診斷他自2003年起就罹患失智症，查維斯每天「如影隨形」，監看丈夫和房子，以確定每件事都正確無誤，她則是盡量找時間打盹。

And every morning, after about two hours in church in the Crenshaw area, she returns to her home with the motivation and strength to go on.

每天早上大約上克倫蕭地區教會兩小時後回家，她頓時覺得又有幹勁和動力可以繼續撐下去。

A survey released recently indicates that Chavis' experience is not unique. The study found that about one-third of people caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease felt "more religious" because of the experience. The study, which surveyed 650 adults nationwide, was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the Alzheimer's Foundation of America.

最近公布的一項調查指出，並不是只有查維斯有這種經驗。研究發現，照護得了失智症的親人中，約三分之一人因本身的經驗而覺得「宗教信仰更堅強」。這項研究調查全美650名成人，是由哈里斯互動市調顧問公司代表美國失智症基金會進行。

The survey found that 36% of respondents, who identified themselves as religious or nonreligious, said they felt "more religious." This feeling was more pronounced among African American respondents, with 48% saying that's how they felt.

調查發現，36%受訪者不管自認信仰是否虔誠都表示，他們覺得「更信教」，這種感覺在非洲裔受訪者中比較明確，有48%說，他們有那種感覺。

"When you're dealing with disease, sickness and tragedy, people get shaken out of their lethargy and begin to ask the ultimate questions," said Father Paul Kowalewski, rector of St. James' Episcopal Church in Los Angeles. "And when they do, they find God, or God's presence."

「當你在面對疾病、病痛和悲劇時，往往會從昏昏欲睡、無精打釆中驚醒，並開始問最根本的問題，」洛杉磯聖公會雅各堂牧師柯瓦勒斯基神父說。「這時他們就找到上帝或上帝的存在。」

More than 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease, a neurodegenerative illness characterized by memory loss and disorientation, among other symptoms. Alzheimer's disease, more common in the elderly, worsens over roughly a 10-year period and is fatal.

逾450萬美國人罹患老人失智症，一種神經退化性疾病，除了種種其他病徵，主要特徵是失憶和迷失方向。失智症在老年人之間更普遍，約十年期就會惡化且會致命。

There is no cure, and only "modestly successful" treatments exist, said Dr. Jeffrey L. Cummings, founder and director of the UCLA Alzheimer's Disease Center.

洛杉磯加大失智症中心創辦人兼院長康明斯說，目前失智症還無藥可治，而且治療方面「進展不大」。

About 20 million Americans are caring for someone with Alzheimer's, according to the foundation. Most of the caregivers are family members, spouses or adult children.

該基金會指出，約兩千萬美國人正在照顧失智的親人。大部分照護者是家屬、配偶或成年的子女。

Because caregivers bear heavy burdens — for example, the frustration of patients who frequently do not remember that they don't remember — they may die younger and can lapse into substance abuse and depression, Cummings said.

康明斯說，由於照護者負擔沈重，例如，病人因常常忘了他們不記得而倍感挫折，他們可能折壽，並流於濫用物質和憂鬱症。

"It's been called, the '36-hour day,' " Cummings said. "Because there is no minute in which the caregiver can afford not to be vigilant over the patient, and that makes for a very trying kind of challenge."

「他們稱之為『一天36小時』，」康明斯說。「由於照護者幾乎分分秒秒都要提高警覺，照顧病人，因此形成高難度的挑戰。」

Although Chavis was previously religious — she was raised a Baptist and attended church on Sundays — she said that after her husband's diagnosis, the church anchored her even more.

雖然查維斯原來就信教，她小時屬於基督教浸信會，星期天都上教會做禮拜，她表示，在她丈夫病情診斷出來後，教會更堅定她的信仰。

"I couldn't do it alone, and even though I was centered around God, I had to seek him even more, because it started to get more hectic, and there were no answers," she said.

「我自己辦不到，雖然我以上帝為中心，但我更需要牠，因為病情越來越重，但又完全無解，」她說。

Peter Hill, a psychology professor at the Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University in La Mirada, said that for some people, facing a loved one with a terminal illness is what makes them aware of their own mortality. The experience causes them to search for meaning beyond themselves, for "a sense of transcendence," he said.

拉米拉達白歐拉大學羅斯密心理學院心理系教授希爾說，對某些人，面對摯愛的親人得到絕症，使他們忽然理解自己也將死亡。他說，這種經驗使他們超越自己去尋求生命的意義，去尋找「一種超驗主義的體驗」。

In the United States, there are more than 260,000 religious communities — synagogues, parishes, mosques and other centers of worship — and about 80% of Americans affiliate themselves with a religious institution.

美國有超過26萬個宗教社群，包括猶太教堂、教區、清真寺和其他禮拜中心，約80%美國人信奉某種宗教。

According to the Alzheimer's Foundation, the disease affects nearly 50% of those over age 85. By 2050, almost 16 million Americans are expected to have it.

據失智症基金會表示，年過85的人，近半受這種疾病影響，而到2050年，約1600萬美國人料將得失智症。

"You're really facing humanity. There's an old saying, 'there's no atheists in the foxholes,' and it's sort of like that,"said Kowalewski, the St. James rector.

「你要真正面對人性，有句古諺說：『散兵坑裡沒有無神論者』，大概就像那樣，」洛杉磯聖公會雅各堂牧師柯瓦勒斯基說。

《詞解》
Alzheimer 老人失智症
caregivers 照護者
naps 打盹
depression 憂鬱症
vigilant 警惕
ulcer 潰瘍
terminal illness 絕症
St. James' Episcopal Church 聖公會雅各堂neurodegenerative illness 神經退化性疾病
transcendence 超驗主義
synagogues 猶太教堂
atheists 無神論者
foxholes 散兵坑
religious 信仰虔誠，信教
lethargy 昏昏欲睡
substance abuse 濫用物質