To: andysandmikesmom
Your alzheimer's story reminded me of the time I was staying with my fil, before he had to go into the facility thanks to Mr.Parkinson, and I asked him if I could get him anything to drink...yes, he would like a mug of milk. No problem.
The milk was brought to the family room and set down on the coffee table - everything's ok so far...he got up with his milk and I inquired if there was something wrong with it...no, I just want to heat it up a bit. Fine with me.
After several minutes, and no fil back in the room, I decided that best I check things out. Upon entering the kitchen, he was standing if front of the refridgerator poking at the calendar hanging on the door...Pops, what the heck are you doing?
"I can't get the damm microwave to turn on," came the reply.
Truly one of the laugh to keep from crying moments, in an awful disease progression.
295 posted on
09/15/2002 12:46:55 PM PDT by
lodwick
To: everyone
296 posted on
09/15/2002 1:11:00 PM PDT by
lodwick
To: lodwick
Oh, Loddy, such a funny, sad, touching story....And so very true to form, for those who suffer from any dementia, whether brought on by Alzheimers, Parkinsons, strokes,...whatever...dementia is truly devastating, yet as you have shown, it does provide well meaning chuckles for those observers of such...
Having worked in nursing homes for many, many years, those patients with dementia, were the ones I especially loved working with...they could be so funny, without meaning to be so, and they were so endearing, so innocent of the ravages upon their minds...
Here is one funny little story about my mom...when we brought her to live with us, we bought a larger house, for our family and to be able to accomodate her...so it was a new house for all of us...
Now, in the dining room, which is right next to the kitchen, there is a big brown door, which opens into a large pantry...next to that door, is where the white fridge in the kitchen stands...
When we first moved in, mom kept opening up that brown pantry door, and would try to climb in...when we asked her what she was doing, ,she said she was trying to get to her bedroom...when we explained what the pantry door was, and tried to correctly guide her toward her room, she would get flustered and say that no that was not a pantry door, it was a refrigerator door, and that she needed to get to her room, via climbing through the fridge...then she would demand to know, who in the world has a brown fridge anyway.....she was so flustered, and so mixed up, and made absolutely no sense at all, at least not to us...
But as you well know, there is no use to explain these things to someone deep in dementia, because what you say to them, makes no sense to them....its just better to go along with them, no matter how it might break your heart, while making you chuckle, all at the same time...
A truly nasty devastating condition for anyone to have to bear...
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