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| Magpie 54 |
Taking her husband by the hand, she lead him to the bed, and gently helped him onto it. Removing his slippers and caressing his feet tenderly she leaned over and kissed his hands. She looked up to his face and smiled. He stared back at her.
Placing a few familiar pictures on his nightstand, her hands began to tremble. A few unopened cards lay next to his bible. She opened the envelopes and added them to the bulletin with the drawings from their granddaughters and a small calendar listing birthday events for every month.
He watched every move she made as she bustled about the room, folding a blanket, putting something in the garbage, and then stopping to ask Helga a question. He yearned to have her near by. His eyes wide with terror with the thought she was going to leave the room. She would return to his side now and again and rub his back giving him assuring comfort.
Helga came in again, with a key and handed it to her. She then went outside the room and opened a box that was located beside his bedroom door. He struggled to get out of bed to follow her. Shuffling to the door her called out her name and her smile popped around the door frame. Taking his hand she showed him the box. Inside she had put a picture of the two of them from their 60th anniversary, and beside the picture was his name...Abram Janzen Room 207.
Confused and angry he looked at the photo and then at her. A tear in his eyes, he shook his head and said. "Why?". He let go of her hand and went back to his bed. Sad, she went to his side and before she could comfort him he again said, "Why, why did you leave me for him?"
His mind frail with Alzheimer's, he could no longer recognize himself in the photo. He no longer knew who that old man was with the light of his life. All he thought was she had left him, and they both cried quietly together.
Oh, this is so sad. You captured the experience of both the patient and the caregiver all too well.
ReplyDeleteA beautiful post, and you captured that the anguish and the love.
ReplyDeleteUnbelievably moving ........
ReplyDeleteTruly sad rendering of the elderly in terminal confusion.
ReplyDeleteoh Christine this is so, so sad and beautiful. You have painted this scene, too familiar to too many families with the word brush of a fine artist.
ReplyDeleteaw, that's so sad. It's so hard to see people with dementia losing touch with the people closest to them.
ReplyDeleteoh my...plucking my heart strings with this one...demetia is such a hard topic...written very well...sad.
ReplyDeleteOh how very sad, but you managed to capture the essence well of what Alzheimer's does to a family. Well written.
ReplyDeleteIf only he could understand that HE was the one who had gone...such a sad and lonely scene and no good ending in sight. ever. Well done, wordsmith!!!
ReplyDeleteHeartbreakingly sad. Well written.
ReplyDeleteSo very sad... so very well-written.
ReplyDeleteThis makes me so sad! Have you seen the movie "The Notebook"? Oh my stars ~ I need a box of kleenex every single time I watch it ~ and I've watched it many times!!! :(
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
Oh this is so moving and it actually it made me cry. Such a devastating illness, I hope they find a cure for that first!
ReplyDeleteI'm challenged to think of anything more unfair than dementia. Heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteno words but pesky eye mist
ReplyDeleteMemory once lost reminds us how precious a commodity it is...
ReplyDeleteIncredibly heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteSo very sad and yet beautiful.
ReplyDeleteso very tender, dear christine... well written friend.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a riveting little snippet - thank you!
ReplyDeletepierced me right through.
ReplyDelete