4/23/13

Yesterday I spent 1 hour with the Assisted Living residents.

When I first arrived, I read to some of my favorite residents. The bond I've created with some residents is really great. I honestly don't know if they remember me or not, but either way if they did or didn't, I still like talking to them.

After some time passed, I decided to switch to some trivia. A woman I don't usually speak to, who's name is Ilene, was playing trivia with me. From what I've observed about her over the past few months is that she's pretty normal compared to the other elderly folks. I have not see any signs of dementia and I used to wonder why she was even at Aegis. As I got her brain going on the trivia questions, I learned a lot about her too. She recalled where she lived, places she visited, and even the schools she attended. But that's not what really caught my attention. As I was speaking to Ilene, I noticed that she was constantly repeating herself. At first I thought it might have been due to old age. But then I was starting to see a pattern and I linked it back to dementia. Our conversation was very similar to this:

Ilene: "I lived in San Francisco. I was right next to Twin Peaks. The weather was great."
Me: "I'm glad you liked it. Especially since you lived next to a nice view."
Ilene: "Oh yes, I lived in San Francisco. Right next to Twin Peaks."
Me: "Would you go up to see the view?"
Ilene: "Yes, my siblings and I would. I was 1 of 8 children. We lived right next to Twin Peaks."
Me: "Wow 1 of 8, that's a lot!"
Ilene: "Yes, my mother had 8 kids... and I was 1 of 8 children. My mother believed in the boys having college educations. I went to school for book keeping."
Me: "Did you like book keeping?"
Ilene: "Yes, I loved it. I was a book keeper for 30 years. I had a great pension from it"
Me: "30 years, a very long time."
Ilene: "Yes, 30 years. I was a book keeper for 30 years and I loved it. I had a great pension from it."
Me: "Would you have wanted to do anything else?"
Ilene: "No, I wouldn't. I loved book keeping. I was actually a book keeper for 30 years and I loved it."

I'm sure you can grasp the idea. If you are wondering if I found this conversation annoying, the answer is no. I didn't. Days like these really make me wish that there is cure for Alzheimer's Disease.