Love and Memory

If A Tree Falls in the Alzheimer’s Unit and Nobody Remembers, Did it Really Happen?

A Saturday Out

I was reluctant to take an entire Saturday away from home, especially since Claire and Arthur…

Love in the Time of Alzheimer’s

Mom Gets Violent

Mom’s caregiver Samaria is talking to my sister Claire in the hallway outside my room. “Her dementia is getting worse,” she says in her musical Samoan lilt. “She just tried to hit me. She threw her water at me and called…

Teach Your Children Well

In which I learn from my mother who remembers nothing

Mom wakes early on a Sunday morning, saying she needs to use the bathroom. I explain, again, about the fall, the concussion and the catheter; her brittle bones and…

Feeding Mom

The caregiver arrives late-ish on Saturday, so Claire and I tag team the morning routine. I see Claire coming out of Mom’s room and ask, “Should I make Mom breakfast?”

Well, I gave her a banana and she’s just holding it.”

A Slice of Alzheimer’s Pie

Stage 7, I think

I am taking a break from writing essays to sit with Mom. I am enjoying “So I Married An Axe Murderer,” a Mike Myers movie friends have referenced repeatedly over the years. Mom used to get agitated when we watched anything that had…

Hospice Recert

When Colleen came from hospice yesterday to check on Mom for recertification, I was a little worried. Mom’s vitals, as reported weekly by the case nurse, have been looking pretty good to me. What if Mom becomes ineligible for hospice care?

That’s the Disease Talking

No, Wait… It’s Mom

Claire and I have spent the last forty-five minutes giving Mom her meds, brushing her teeth, changing her Depends and chuck pad, strapping special pads to her feet, and turning and adjusting her body to tilt left. We have…

The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming!

Mom is sundowning like crazy, and I am pretty tired of it

Last night Mom and I had enjoyed “Despicable Me 2,” and she was watching me take the DVD out of the player and put it into…

Living and Dying, Just Like All Of Us

The Illusion of Control

Theo and Doris are getting ready for bed when Doris is astonished to discover warm water pooling on the floor at her feet. She stands, legs apart, leaning forward and steadying herself the dresser. For a few…

Is Getting Better Than Giving?

An Old Homeless Lady and My Old Bedbound Mom Give Me Pause.

I am in Chicago, waiting for my grandson to be born. While Beulah labors endlessly, I stroll about the Chicago Medical District. Yes, that’s what it’s called. They have signs up, so you know…