A VICTORY IN THE ALZHEIMER AND DEMENTIA WAR

Today, January 11, 2023, I watched with near glee as my friend, Duffy, achieved success in her hand, brain, mind, and memory coordination.

Dialing a phone number correctly.

So simple a task.

Duffy has her good days, not-so-good days, and some poor days smothered in her inability to accomplish the simplest of tasks.

It was time for my family to visit. I had not been to Elm Spring Drive since the end of the holidays. The children, grandchildren, and the visiting dog had returned to their homes, happy to have seen their parents still surviving, despite monumental health issues (Jack — heart failure, Duffy, dementia/Alzheimer’s)

The holiday decorations, suitable for Macy’s, had been removed, carefully packed, and returned to their carved-out place in the garage. None of this would have been possible without the careful attention and diligence of Lupe and Maite. I do not know how the Senior Saylor’s would manage without their ministrations — Lupe for heavy lifting and outside garden and yard maintenance. Maite leads the charge of the round-the-clock caregivers, who, in addition to providing first-class life-maintaining care, shelter Mom and Dad with love and tenderness.

All that is left is comic relief: Drum Roll. Family Friend, Charlotte, two months older than Duffy, and Bestie from the long-ago meeting in San Francisco. It was time for my weekly visit.