My mom had Alzheimer's and she lived in the house she loved - her home for 41 years - until a health crisis caused my siblings and me to find a long term care facility for her. The name of the care facility was St. Leonard.
She did not understand why her children took her away from her home and in the world she created, she told us that we put her in this jail so that we could steal all her money and valuable possessions. She was a prisoner in this place that was out in the "boondocks" of Centerville, Ohio. She was so mad that she was in Centerville. "Your dad and I never wanted to live in Centerville. We chose to live in Kettering." FYI, Centerville and Kettering are neighboring suburbs.
When I saw this information about St. Leonard, it made me smile and pause to think. Mom's life went from a lovely ranch home to a single room with a bed, dresser, desk and chair, some of her favorite pieces of art, and a very small closet. Her life was turned upside down, she was totally pissed, and could not get out of this place. In her mind, she was a prisoner.
A couple years later, we moved Mom to a care facility in Kettering. She was happy to be out of Centerville but the happiness didn't last for long. She wanted to be back in her house and pretty soon she was back to feeling that she was just one of the inmates in this new building.
Dementia is a tough journey for everyone.
He sounds like a good sort 😊
ReplyDeleteIf we spent as much on mental health and job training, as we do on prisons, we would need a lot fewer prisons.
ReplyDeleteI think I've been lucky. Neither of my parents suffered from that dreaded disease. Having to make those choice for your parents must have been a very hard thing to do.
ReplyDeleteThe choice to move her to a care facility broke our hearts. We knew she wouldn't like it but she was at the point where she wasn't eating well, she was falling, doing some things that were not safe, and she needed around-the-clock attention.
DeleteIt's a tragic disease, both for the patient and family.
ReplyDeleteIt was so hard to watch her change as the disease progressed.
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