This was taken by Susan at her home on Thanksgiving Day, 2009. Jack lived only about 4 more months. Isn't that amazing? The ONLY good thing about Alzheimer's Disease is that many people who have it (Jack was one) don't realize the devastation they are suffering. And especially with Jack, that devastation did not include any physical pain or disability.
You can't imagine how hard it was to take someone who looked like this back to Silverado and leave him.
I agree with you Mrs. Linda. Jack looked good until his last days. But for comic relief I gotta say this...Jack had his moments where he would tell me that he had Alzheimers and begin to explain how devastating the disease was...within a flicker the disease would kick back in and his first words would be..."Where's Linda?"" LOL I Miss my Jack!!
ReplyDeleteKisha, this NEVER happened with me. I think I had forgotten that it did with you. Was it when that book or magazine was lying out with the word "ALZHEIMERS' on the cover? Was it once or more than once? Can you remember any more about what he said?
ReplyDeleteTo my other friends: Kisha was the Director of Engagements (activities) at Silverado. She is personable, dynamic, beautiful, and hysterically funny. I happened to be there when she came in to interview, and I loved her from that day forward! So did Jack!!! As Susan once said, he was very glad to see her, but he really lit up when he saw Kisha coming down the hall. She could relate (mimic) what Jack had done and said perfectly!
Yes! That’s when he said it. Jack was good about reading things, especially buildings that were familiar to him. Sometimes he would point out certain buildings to me and tell me he built it. This particular day this book Life with Alzheimer’s was on sitting on the table and Jack picked it up and said “Alzheimer’s,” He stopped for a moment and then said “I have that” I reached over for the book and asked him did he know what is meant and he replied. “It’s a sad disease.” I felt so bad and just in an instant…he seemed to snap out of it then asked “Where’s Linda?” You know Linda, I hid that book from Jack and anything else that said Alzheimer’s because those words would upset a lot of the residents. When I first started working there, sometimes I would go home crying after seeing our residents the way they were. Doctors, Lawyers, Educators, Pilots, Military Generals and Prominent Business men like Jack were all among me and there was nothing I could do to help them. I felt helpless. I guess that’s why I remembered my residents “characters” so well. I knew what I saw wasn’t who they were but I found peace in knowing that I was giving some life these people. I tried so hard to treat them as if they didn’t have dementia. I’d laugh with them, make fun of them and they would do it right back to me. LOL . They would also listen to my men problems. Haha!! They never judged me…Gosh I miss my residents. I especially miss Jack. He was there with me from the beginning and contributed to my growth as an Activities Professional. I will never forget him. Did I tell you we were actually having an affair? ;) Well at least Jack thought we did..lol. I always had to reassure him I was a friend of yours and we were going to get you flowers. LOL I could go on and on with stories of Jack and I only knew him for almost 2 years!! But I certainly have a lifetime of stories to tell. Luv yah Mrs. Linda!
ReplyDeleteKisha