The first full day in the Alzheimer's section

            Kathy was the first to visit Mom alone, and she found her sitting in her room with her new roommate looking out the window at the beautiful garden and the bird feeder we hoped would cheer her up.   

             Mom told Kathy that she liked all the residents and some of the staff.

            The elegant woman in charge of marketing, the one who let me know that she’d never seen anyone with Alzheimer’s who seemed really happy, said Mom had played the piano earlier that day.  But Kathy heard from other staff and Mom and her new roommate were up and down all night, walking down the corridors that lead to doors that could be opened but set off an alarm if they were opened without the password, 4, 3, 2, 1 Star.

            They were tired the next morning.

            Mom’s roommate was willing to go to the garden, but Mom was afraid to go outdoors, where there was no bathroom, so she stayed in, this wise woman who specified in her Advance Health Care Directive that, if she had to go someday to a care facility, she wanted to be outside as much as possible. 

            Mom told Kathy that she wanted to go home, and Kathy             explained that it wouldn’t be right away, and when Mom said she was depressed, Kathy said that we all understood it was a big adjustment. 

            The paranoia bit came at the end when Mom said she called the police last night, but they did not come.

            Kathy brought all the items on Mom’s list, which included her purse because a woman has to have a purse and her rings even though Mom’s lost so much weight that they slip right off.  Nan, the friend who visited Mom at home every Wednesday for a long, long time, might be able to adjust the size of the rings. Kathy ordered a new bed and she and Suzy looked for a chest of drawers and a nightstand.

                        The bird feeder was full of seed, Kathy pointed out, so the birds would come.