My paternal grandmother has Parkinson's disease, and it finally got bad enough that we had to move her into a nursing home a few months ago. Her brother is the great uncle (named Ones - pronounced "onus", not "wons") who passed away just before Christmas, and she can't quite remember what happened - only that something did happen. Their other sister, Lois, also lives here in Nashville, and visits my grandmother several times a week. My dad went to visit his mother the other day, and this is a conversation they had:
Grandmama: " Lois has been real sick. She was here earlier this morning and didn't feel too good."
Dad: "No, Lois is fine. She hasn't been sick."
"Well, I think she has. She's feelin' poorly, and is in the hospital."
"No, she's fine. She came to visit you this morning, remember?"
[Pause in the conversation to call Lois to verify that she is not, in fact, sick.]
Dad: "See? Lois is fine. Ones is the one who's been sick, remember?"
Grandmama: "Oh, yeah, he's not doing too good."
"And he was in the hospital for a couple weeks, remember?"
"Yeah, I do."
"And, then, he passed away."
"Again?"
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Tara and I went to visit her yesterday afternoon, and she was sitting in the lounge with some of the other residents. The TV was on, and tuned to Dr. Phil. After we got settled in beside her, she pointed to the set and said, "You see that man? I think his name is Philip. He said my name earlier and told me I had on a red hat." Apparently he did this from the television. He spoke to her a couple of other times while we were there - said her name to get her attention, anyway. My grandmother, Dr. Phil's new best friend.
Grandmama: " Lois has been real sick. She was here earlier this morning and didn't feel too good."
Dad: "No, Lois is fine. She hasn't been sick."
"Well, I think she has. She's feelin' poorly, and is in the hospital."
"No, she's fine. She came to visit you this morning, remember?"
[Pause in the conversation to call Lois to verify that she is not, in fact, sick.]
Dad: "See? Lois is fine. Ones is the one who's been sick, remember?"
Grandmama: "Oh, yeah, he's not doing too good."
"And he was in the hospital for a couple weeks, remember?"
"Yeah, I do."
"And, then, he passed away."
"Again?"
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Tara and I went to visit her yesterday afternoon, and she was sitting in the lounge with some of the other residents. The TV was on, and tuned to Dr. Phil. After we got settled in beside her, she pointed to the set and said, "You see that man? I think his name is Philip. He said my name earlier and told me I had on a red hat." Apparently he did this from the television. He spoke to her a couple of other times while we were there - said her name to get her attention, anyway. My grandmother, Dr. Phil's new best friend.
my paternal grandmother has Parkinson's as well. sometimes you just have to laugh at the things they think/say...so that you don't cry.
One of the great blessings in my life right now is that my grandfather has moved into an assisted living facility that is closer to all of the immediate family. He was in Memphis and is now in Smyrna. It was a hard move on everyone, but worth it in the long run. I am blessed I can go and see him more often and we've enjoyed a few football games together. He naps, I watch the game and he constantly asks me what's going on as he's napped and missed vital plays. It's great.