She Really Interests Me
There are days when Lyn is sharp and with it. Yesterday was one of those days.
She woke up happy and worked with her speech therapist well. Day hab was closed for in-service training and so Mom and Lyn went out to breakfast with their lovely neighbor. Lyn picked Tim's Place. When they were done, Mom suggested they go one way to get to Target and Lyn suggested a different Target location. Lyn's suggestion was closer and easy to find. She knew exactly where she was and where she wanted to go.
Two weeks ago, she had a bit of a sharp day. Mom and I were talking around a subject that we knew had the potential to upset Lyn. Lyn was not going anywhere and insisted on sitting through the full conversation. Mom and I were talking about some genealogical research she had recently conducted which turned up a different spelling of my paternal grandmother's name than she had previously known. As a result, she was debating if she should send the information to my father since it pertains to his family. Any discussion of him upsets Lyn and we were being very careful to not say his name or his relationship to us. We were talking about my paternal grandmother's family and referring to them just by first name.
Lyn connected the dots and got upset. She was adamant that she didn't want to see him under any circumstances. Mom and I stopped our conversation and assured her that there was no risk of encountering our father since he lives several states away. We promised her that we know her wishes and respect them. We will keep him away from her because that is what SHE wants. We told her that Mom was thinking of telling him information about his mother; not about Lyn and that sharing information was a nice thing to do. We also let her know that giving him information about his mother did not include any information about her and it did not invite him to see or speak with her. While she did accept our statements, she cried. She cries daily now.
It always amazes me when she's making connections that we sometimes think are lost. These days of engagement seemingly come out of nowhere and can disappear the next day. It is one of the most confusing things about Alzheimer's. How can the brain be so functional one day and so lost the next? What causes the neurons to fire away like they once did?
She woke up happy and worked with her speech therapist well. Day hab was closed for in-service training and so Mom and Lyn went out to breakfast with their lovely neighbor. Lyn picked Tim's Place. When they were done, Mom suggested they go one way to get to Target and Lyn suggested a different Target location. Lyn's suggestion was closer and easy to find. She knew exactly where she was and where she wanted to go.
Two weeks ago, she had a bit of a sharp day. Mom and I were talking around a subject that we knew had the potential to upset Lyn. Lyn was not going anywhere and insisted on sitting through the full conversation. Mom and I were talking about some genealogical research she had recently conducted which turned up a different spelling of my paternal grandmother's name than she had previously known. As a result, she was debating if she should send the information to my father since it pertains to his family. Any discussion of him upsets Lyn and we were being very careful to not say his name or his relationship to us. We were talking about my paternal grandmother's family and referring to them just by first name.
Lyn connected the dots and got upset. She was adamant that she didn't want to see him under any circumstances. Mom and I stopped our conversation and assured her that there was no risk of encountering our father since he lives several states away. We promised her that we know her wishes and respect them. We will keep him away from her because that is what SHE wants. We told her that Mom was thinking of telling him information about his mother; not about Lyn and that sharing information was a nice thing to do. We also let her know that giving him information about his mother did not include any information about her and it did not invite him to see or speak with her. While she did accept our statements, she cried. She cries daily now.
It always amazes me when she's making connections that we sometimes think are lost. These days of engagement seemingly come out of nowhere and can disappear the next day. It is one of the most confusing things about Alzheimer's. How can the brain be so functional one day and so lost the next? What causes the neurons to fire away like they once did?
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