An Alzheimer’s Autumn
When I see the brightly colored leaves of autumn in New Hampshire, where I live, I recall one season when Mother was in the mid stages of Alzheimer’s…before I had to move her from in her New York State home to mine. At that time my husband Jim and I traveled weekly the 275 miles to help care for her and assist with business affairs…property rentals and repair, doctor visits, shopping, etc.
We had enjoyed the lovely foliage on our drive from New Hampshire, so when we arrived in mid-afternoon, I said, “Let’s take Mother for a ride.” Jim drove us on a tour of Quaker Hill, an area where my grandmother had grown up. Amazingly Mother recognized some of the landmarks, particularly after I mentioned their names.
However, her most joyous aspect of the trip was the foliage. She kept “oohing” and “aahing” over the spectacular colors. We stopped so she could gather leaves. (She often pressed these between the pages and covers of books.) I could see that we had brought her so much pleasure, and through this, ours was increased as we journeyed the autumn countryside over winding back roads.
The next day I drove Mother to see her sister, who also had Alzheimer’s, but now lived in a nursing home. It was 45 miles away, also through areas of colorful foliage. She kept remarking on the colors of the leaves and began telling the story of Jack Frost who painted them. Years ago, she enthralled us children with tales she made up about Jack Frost painting the countryside with colored leaves.
For a long time afterward, as winter swirled around the house and kept Mother inside, she would reminisce about the drives we took that autumn and the colorful foliage.
Sometimes just small gestures will bring pleasure to an Alzheimer’s patient. I look back and am so glad Jim and I took time to do these things with her. The joys I remember help obliterate the frustrating times.
Tags: Activities, Alzheimers, Alzheimers+caregiving, Alzheimers+Disease, Alzheimers+patient, autumn, caregivers, Caregiving, dementia, Quaker+Hill
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POSTED IN: Activities, Care, General, Inspiration-Encouragment, Memories, Personal Caregiving Experiences
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