This will be a short post, cause I'm not sure that I am all wrapped around it yet. Yet another interesting day in the life of an Alzheimer's stricken person and her family I guess.
My mom's sister arrived for a short (3 day) visit with Shirley. Mom was ready and had been anticipating the visit for the last few days. We thought. Marilyn arrived with her son Dale around noon today, there was a lovely sort of reunion, and my brother and I enjoyed spending time with cousin Dale, who is a tall and handsome and successful family guy who lives in Ohio. After Dale left for home, mom and auntie and I went for lunch and to the grocery store for staples ("banamas" and such) and once we got home, settled in for a visit. Sometime mid-afternoon, the mom started to get a bit agitated (not so unusual in my world anymore), so I took her for a walk. During said walk, she told me that she didn't know the visiting person, that she didn't remember having a sister, and that she didn't want the woman to stay at her house. I thought that we had prepared Marilyn for the possibility that Shirley might not suddenly know who she was, and Marilyn thought she was prepared for that too. NOT!!!
As it turns out, when we got back, Shirley told her sister that she didn't know her, that she didn't want her to stay, and that "everything was perfect until this happened". Marilyn was pretty upset, as well she should have been. I certainly recall the first time that Shirley asked me why I called her "mom". I shed tears for days after that. But, one becomes inured, I guess. Anyway, Marilyn called my brother Tom who came to get her to take her to a friend's house for the night. Shirley and I will drive up there and have lunch with her tomorrow to see how the situation might work itself out. Shirley felt pretty bad about making Marilyn cry, but hey, it is what it is. I'll probably add to this tomorrow, so stay tuned.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm so sorry that the visit didn't go as planned. I think the one thing you are learning the most, is that nothing is for certain anymore. It's very sad, for everyone involved, that your mom did not remember her sister. Your baby steps are working wonders for her, but it won't be that way in all facets of her life. Keep doing what you're doing Kathy, no one should expect anything more than that.
ReplyDelete