Ch.131 A Good Day to Remember
March 24, 2022
Unplanned, I arrive early at The Refuge, at 10:45 instead of my usual 11:15. I have no idea why, but I get there in time to learn that two caregivers are getting Pat up for the day. I hear angry shouts from Pat’s room: she is objecting strenuously to something they are doing. Soon, though, the door opens, and I am presented with an unhappy wife. Nonetheless, we kiss, and I take her to a quiet room where we can converse with another resident and his partner. Pat still seems displeased.
Jim, Pat’s hospice social worker, appears about 11:15. He asks Pat how she likes residing at The Refuge, fully expecting her to say she loves it. Instead, Pat shrugs her shoulders and says “ehhh!” That concerns me. I guess, wrongly, that Pat was gotten out of bed against her wishes. I ask Jackie, the lead aide, to check, and she assures me that Pat was asked and agreed to arise.
Now it’s time for lunch and things turn better quickly. First, Pat eats by herself, only needing occasional help getting her food onto her fork or spoon. Meanwhile, she begins conversing in complete sentences. We discuss our children’s activities, our granddaughter Elizabeth’s current high school band trip to Disneyworld, family stuff. I realize that Pat’s anger this morning was a sign that she had surplus energy available, energy that hasn’t been around for several weeks.
I leave Pat for my afternoon break. By the time I get home I hear the phone ring. It’s Cathy, the hospice nurse. She’s calling me excitedly because Pat is talking with her, actually talking, and Cathy wants me to hear. I tell Cathy that, yes, yes, Pat was doing the same at lunch. Cathy and I rejoice.
And now it’s supper time at The Refuge. My daughter Jennifer and her husband Jeff bring Chinese food and we eat with Pat in a private dining room. SHRIMP! Pat hasn’t tasted shrimp for months, maybe a year. She loves it. Pat continues speaking cogently during supper.
Today Pat is back. Really back. I am trying to enjoy this day without expecting another one like it tomorrow. I don’t want to ask too much from Lewy Body.
Good night, honey. Thank you for a wonderful day.
Pat’s comments on A Good Day to Remember:
Ron to Pat: “Do you feel any different today than before?”
Pat: “No, I feel the same. I’m just the same.”
Pat (After hearing me read this essay): “Yeah, wonderful.”