One is Sister Esther Boor, who at 106 speeds through the labyrinth of halls with a royal blue walker, glazes ceramic nativity scenes for the gift shop and pedals an exercise bike every day, her black veil flapping, an orange towel draped over her legs for modesty. Sister Esther's autobiographical essay, written 80 years ago, is similarly upbeat, speaking fondly of her family and her decision to become a nun. Dr. Snowdon's condition that nuns donate their brains was a stumbling block for some of the sisters. I had an image of myself being buried intact. This is another way of giving life.
Many nuns now see brain donation through a liturgical lens or a humorous one.
We'll be so happy we won't care what happens to our brains. After completing the cognitive and physical tests including identifying everyday objects and opening small doors with different latches the nuns get summaries of their results and can see if their performance has changed. But maybe it's made me more tolerant of people with Alzheimer's. I am afraid of what's going to happen to me, yes. He says that when he was in Catholic school as a child, the nuns were more rigid and strict than the warm, good-humored School Sisters he sees almost as grandmothers.