A mother has traveled from Korea to visit her daughter who lives in the US. now. She works in a zoo and takes her mother along with her one day. They are especially interested in Zelzah, the last California Condor who lives in the zoo. The animals are now arranged by how endangered their species is. She encourages her mother to walk the length of the zoo while she does her job in security. Later they have dinner and the mother combs the daughter's hair. She then tells her daughter that she has come to tell her daughter she's been diagnosed with dementia. The daughter tells her that she will care for her but the mother refuses it. "Understand that your human mother has gone away. Don't try to find her in what I've become. Only then is there a chance you will love me still.
Is there any of us who doesn't have a relative or friend suffering from this?
8 comments:
And/or concerns with how much their own genetics might predispose them to suffer thus as well? The fun certainly refuses to stop, in so many ways, indeed. Meanwhile, better luck in fine-tuning the meds so you don't find yourself in so many impromptu naps. (Did you do anything to change the boldness of the typeface in comments, btw?)
Just read a James Salter collection.
My brother, and now Walt's mother; in the past one of my favorite uncles. To paraphrase MALCOLM IN THE MIDDLE, Life can be so go goddamned unfair.
My grandmother had what I now wonder if it was Lewy body dementia, which my cousin now has. They both saw people and things that weren't there. At least they now have medication which has blocked my cousin's hallucinations, though the prognosis isn't good.
Jackie's mother seemed to have some kind of dementia (it wasn't Alzheimers), though it might have been depression-related.
We have a friend with Parkinson's and his condition and/or his meds produces hallucinations. Scary stuff...
Love his writing.
Yes, Lewy's Body has hallucinations as does Parkinson's.
My father was 80 and my mother was 74 when he was diagnosed with dementia. Later they changed the diagnosis to Alzheimer's. My mother was his primary caregiver for nearly 8 years up to about 3 or 4 months before he died. She died a few years later of dementia.
As Todd pointed out, several others in the family (uncles, cousins) also had Alzheimers and the cousins "joked" about how we would be susceptible.
I haven't read many short stories or novels that have characters with dementia. The only ones I can think of are the The Thursday Murder Club novels.
Post a Comment