Piano bridged the lost years

A wonderful old man who lost his memory to Alzheimer’s disease, lit up and came alive when his niece played the piano. Reporter LETITIA BUSNIAK relates a touching human interest story about her uncle.

Most people will look at this and simply see a girl playing the piano while a weathered man looks fondly at the camera.

But what they do not know is the series of events that led the couple there.

when you look back over your life, it’s hard to believe the memories that seemed so small at the time have grown to shape the person you are today.

In a lot of ways, it’s the smallest things that can have the most unexpected impact — and behind this picture is a series of events that have created one unforgettable life.

The girl in the photo is me and the lovely man smiling at the camera is my uncle Anatol Busniak — who sadly passed away last week.

He was 91 years old and lived a life many people only read about in history books.

As a teenager, he grew up in Poland with his two brothers and sister during the German invasion of the World War II.

Training as a baker before the invasion, Anatol was forced into their ranks for his cooking skills.

His brothers were also put to work — but his younger sister was sent off by train to one of many concentration camps.

Unknown to Anatol, it was the last time he would see his sister, as she was sadly one of countless others who did not survive.

Learning of her unfortunate fate, Anatol decided to do the one thing he could for her memory. He decided to help the other Polish children in the smallest way he could.

At great personal risk, Anatol would secretly bake bread to sneak out and throw to the starving children forced on the trains.

For years he continued this tiny favour, which though seems small, would make a world of difference to those children.

So my uncle’s love of helping others grew — a love that carried through when he and his two brothers were given the opportunity to immigrate to Australia.

Though he never had any of his own, Anatol continued to care for any impoverished or misfortunate children he met until his brother, who had several children, passed away.

Anatol then took it upon himself to help raise those kids and the two lines of family that followed.

He created countless memories of love and generosity for three generations, but over time, he began to fade away into his own world.

Alzheimer’s disease stole my uncle from us for the past few years of his life.

It got to the point where he couldn’t remember faces — just the memories that had shaped his life.

It was only the memories of us as children that could make him remember who we were today, which brings us back to the story of this photo.

As a child my uncle would spend countless hours playing the piano with me – which has remained one of my most cherished memories.

As the disease took him over, he could only remember me as the small child of his memories — until I took to the piano keys.

Once I began to play his lips would turn up, his eyes would widen and glisten before he would say: “There you are my little one”.

My mum captured this moment the last time I saw my uncle, which is now the treasured photo you see.

This image is a constant reminder of the tiny, immeasurable moments of history that shaped an extraordinary life and three generations after.

If you enjoyed reading this story and wish to share your own about how Alzheimer’s has touched your family, or the story of an amazing life, you can contact the writer by emailing letitia.busniak@geraldtonnewspapers.com.au