I saw my dad today. I brought my two older boys with me. When I walked in to my dads room, he was laying on the bed just waking up from a nap. I said "Hi dad". He looked at me and his facial expression was like a little kid in a candy store. He looked at me with bright big eyes and he looked over at each boy, all of us back and forth with a bright look of excitement on his face. I have never seen him do that yet. Maybe the trick is to visit him right after he wakes up. Maybe the Alzheimer's is at it's best when he has just had a long nap.
I sat there for a moment staring in to his eyes as he stared back and then I said "do you know who I am?" Shockingly, he said "of course".
Well, of course, that was only a moment of clarity and I won't get my hopes up. Just after we talked for a minute the nurse came in and sat my dad up to transfer him to his wheel chair, which is always a task. Anyway, he tried to strike her with his hand but he missed.
Oh, dad....my poor dad. That moment of happiness went right out the window! I understand this is typical for Alzheimer's, I was just hoping to hold on to his moment of clarity for just a little longer. Oh well.
5 comments:
You have that moment forever.
I used to love those moments of clarity. It was like seeing my "real" mom for a moment and I wanted to grab onto her and hold her from going away again.
We are not that far down the road yet. Wishing that you could hang onto the moment a little longer.
Best wishes
Hi Krista,
Great post. I'm happy to read that your dad remembered you and had such excitement in his eyes when waking up from his nap and seeing you. I'm Hua, the director of Wellsphere's HealthBlogger Network, a network of over 2,000 of the best health writers on the web (including doctors, nurses, healthy living professionals, and expert patients). I think your blog would be a great addition to the Network, and I'd like to invite you to learn more about it and apply to join at http://www.wellsphere.com/health-blogger. Once approved by our Chief Medical Officer, your posts will be republished on Wellsphere where they will be available to over 5 million monthly visitors who come to the site looking for health information and support. There’s no cost and no extra work for you! The HealthBlogger page (http://www.wellsphere.com/health-blogger) provides details about participation, but if you have any questions please feel free to email me at hua@wellsphere.com.
Best,
Hua
Hey Krista,
I know it's hard. But those moments are golden! You will always remember it, and your boys will to.
Parents are so precious! I wish I had my Mom back! Her birthday was last Sunday. Damn I miss her. I miss the way she used to say my name. She had this little squeaky voice. :)
Enjoy those moments... the good and the bad.
xoxoxoxo
Donna Marie
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