[Magdalen] Rant

[Jay Weigel]

My dad was ever the professor, even when his lectures descended into
gibberish. The words were perfectly understandable, but a salad. It was
painful. My mother, even when she could not speak, could still sing
wordlessly, and that was how we communicated.

On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 11:10 AM, Molly Wolf <lupa at kos.net> wrote:

> Chilton Knudsen told me this:  after my dad had a brain bleed (equivalent
> to stroke) and had lost most of his cognitive and physical function, he
> still turned back into a priest when, at the end of a visit to this
> hospital bed, she asked him for a blessing. That part of him went too deep
> to be damaged.
>
> Molly
>
> The man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no
> other way. -- Mark Twain
>
> > On Feb 25, 2015, at 10:56 AM, Marion Thompson <marionwhitevale at gmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > My dad was always very polite and courteous.  He remained that way to
> the end when he was in the St. Anne's Veterans Hospital . Despite living in
> the fog of Alzheimer's he was always spolite and pleasant, thanking people
> for whatever came his way.
> >
> > Marion, a pilgrim    ... today my sail I lift ....
> >> On 2/25/2015 10:20 AM, Jay Weigel wrote:
> >> Mostly for Allan, but this may refer to Marcy too.....my mother used to
> say
> >> that when people lose it, "they just become more like themselves."
> Allan,
> >> it sounds like this is true of Camille, who you describe as "always a
> >> pleasant person." It was certainly true of my mother, who was always a
> >> pleasant and lovable person, right up to her death, even when she could
> no
> >> longer speak or walk. It was also true of my dad, who was and exacting
> and
> >> sometimes difficult perfectionist.
> >>
> >> Jim, does the hospice supply aides? My former DIL used to be an aide
> with a
> >> hospice and they were trained to deal with the sort of situation you
> >> describe. And it certainly sounds like Marcy is in the denial stage.
> >> Bargaining will be next, and that's a little easier, if more
> painful.....
> >>
> >> On Wed, Feb 25, 2015 at 9:55 AM, James Handsfield <jhandsfield at att.net>
> >> wrote:
> >>
> >>> I thank everyone for their warm comments and prayers.  As I think of it
> >>> this morning, I’m pretty sure Marcy is still in the denial stage of
> grief.
> >>> She just hasn’t accepted that she cannot do the things she wants to do,
> >>> even though she clearly cannot do them.
> >>>
> >>> Responding to a few of the comments:
> >>>
> >>> Sally, yes, some PALS (persons with ALS) do experience dementia with
> the
> >>> disease, but it’s only 10% - 15%.  Marcy may be in that group.
> >>>
> >>> Allan, I a so sorry for your situation.  You and Camille have my
> prayers
> >>> as well.
> >>>
> >>> I’ll call CarePlus today and see if I can upgrade the caregivers to
> those
> >>> who can handle Marcy’s hostility better.  If they can’t I’ll go to the
> >>> hospice people and see what they recommend.
> >>>
> >>> Part of the issue is that as Marcy’s health declines, she starts
> >>> channeling her mother, who was the neediest, most insecure person I’ve
> ever
> >>> met (Marcy’s sister is close behind - she personifies passive
> aggressive).
> >>>
> >>> Thanks again for listening and for your prayers.
> >>>
> >>> -----------------
> >>> Thinking one can behave their way into heaven is an insult to the very
> >>> foundation of salvation.
> >>>
> >>> Jim Handsfield
> >>> jhandsfield at att.net
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >
>