I had with me her birthday present. I would not be back down before her birthday in early February. I got her photos of my lil one and I. It's what she really wants anyway. When I went to pick her up she was so excited to see me. She was sporting a bandage on her hand but trying to hide it. I asked her what happened. "Oh I fell last night after supper." I had talked to both my dad and my aunt that morning, neither had told me she had fallen. "I haven't told D (my aunt) yet. And I think I talked to your dad last night after I fell, but I didn't tell him." Just like an impish child, she grinned and giggled at her secret. She had not left a light on when she went down to dinner and when she came back instead of turning the light on by the door she had opted to walk to her recliner and turn on the lamp. She tripped over something she'd left in the floor. She cut her hand on the corner of the coffee table and jammed her thumb. Luckily one of her neighbors (nosy neighbors probably) had heard her rustling around for some peroxide and made her go to the nurse. We were not mad, but we are concerned. Especially when she told me she had laid on the floor for two or three minutes worried she had broken her hip. Her apartment is equipped with pull cords but she did not have a life alert since she was in the "independent" floor. We remedied that on Monday. She now has a life alert as well.
So off we went. As she was getting in the car she told me she has gotten fat because her caboose is big. I told her I don't think it's fat, I think it's genetics. For a moment I worried I'd give her a complex about her behind (she's always been a huge worrier) until I realized she'd forget what I said in moments. We went to Applebee's where she likes their fried chicken salad. We sat and gabbed like girlfriends. At one point she leaned across the table from me, lowered her voice dramatically, and said, "You know, I'm really concerned..." I thought, "Oh no, here it comes. A lecture about living with a man who's not my husband and sending me to hell." Instead she whispered, "I'm afraid I have Alzheimer's." It took all my self-control not to laugh. I said, "Well, what's the doctor say?" "Oh, I haven't been to the doctor," she smarted. I knew different. She had just undergone memory testing late last year again and had been on Aricept for a year. I just went along with her.
She told me about her friends at the home, er, retirement village. She told me about two men who she gets drinks for at meals. Hollie has severely advanced Crohn's Disease and likes cranberry juice. Mr. Spears likes milk, no ice. Then she went on about how much she missed my grandfather. I know she does. But I also know it's nice for her to have others to mother over. As I was paying the check she tried to beat me to the punch. I refused. Her driver's license caught her eye and she asked me why she still had it. I told her she needed it for identification purposes.
We tried to make a grocery list but she couldn't remember what she needed. I knew my aunt had bought her some groceries earlier that week so I wasn't real concerned. She did say she needed a new watch battery and wanted to get some more lipstick. On to WalMart we went. We hit the makeup section and she pulled out her lipstick tube. I swear she bought it before I was born. It did say Revlon so I tried to match it as best I could. In the end she decided she had enough to make it to a few more weeks of church services, and we put all of them back. Then we hit up the jewelry department for that new battery. As we stood waiting our turn I looked down at the watch. It was working, just set to the wrong time. I reset it and told her to put it on. When we left I told her we would check and make sure it was keeping time. I knew we'd be awhile.
After the jewelry department we headed over to the food side where we didn't have a list so we wander aimlessly for about forty-five minutes. We ended up with two bags of red delicious apples, one pack of paper towels, one box of nutty butter bars, and a can of tuna. Since we didn't have that much we got in line at the "Speedy Checkout". I know those people behind us were cussing us up a storm. We had to find her one check. She carries two but one is meant for church. Then we had to pull out her driver's license. I reminded her this was why she should keep her driver's license. She didn't remember asking me about it earlier. As we were loading up in the car I saw a Dollar Tree. My grandfather had loved that store. She asked me what it was, not remembering the times they went. "Can we go there?" she asked, timidly. "If you're up to it, SURE!" I said, explaining to her that everything in the store was $1. We hadn't been in ten minutes when she asked how much something was. :) She bought two Valentine's Day cards but wouldn't say who they were for. I have my suspicions.
So home again, home again, jiggity jig we were. She gave me the grand tour, showing me where she eats, where she got stuck on a stationary bike in the gym because she didn't know how to get back off, and introduced me to all her friends. She knew I was her granddaughter but asked me four times how many she had. One gentleman, whom she loudly whispered in my ear was a BAPTIST PREACHER, told her for all the money she pays to live there to leave that light on all the time that caused her to fall. I agreed with him. She was fussing over her thumb, saying it felt better but she didn't remember hitting it when she fell. I laughed and told her she didn't remember to turn her light on, so her not remembering she hit her thumb didn't hold much water with me. She laughed. I asked her if I was too hard on her. She said, "No! That keeps me sharp!"
So I took my leave late afternoon. I repeated how long my trip back home would take no less than three times. It is a two and a half hour trip. She thanked me profusely for coming and taking her out. I truly enjoyed it. We're loosing her fast but that day was a good day. Sure enough, she called me two hours into my trip home. "ARE YOU HOME YET???" "Almost, Nana, almost." "Okay! I just wanted to make sure!" There is a Rascal Flatts song about Alzmeimer's which has a line, "We started loosing her when she lost him." That certainly applies here. We started slowly loosing her when my grandfather passed. He was her rock, her everything. I emailed my sister when I got back. Urged her, even though she's in Atlanta and busy with her three kids and one on the way, she should try to get to see Nana before too long. My little sister had just been down the weekend before. Nana doesn't remember that I come one Saturday a month. She told me she hadn't seen me in six months. We're loosing her fast. The Aricept was only supposed to buy us a year to eighteen months. I think we're there. So one Saturday a month I'll continue to head south, down the stretch of I65 that is beautiful no matter the season, and cherish the times I have left with her.
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