40 Things

By Amy 

Alison was very sedate while I was there today.  She had just finished her physical therapy.  Jennifer said Alison was tired so they didn't do much today besides edge of bed sitting.  I read her a page from Catcher In The Rye.  She seemed to sleep right through it.  We sat quietly for the most part. I told her that we had to put one of our dogs to sleep.  She perked up, opened her eyes, and asked why, in a perfectly normal, lucid way.  She said she was sorry and then closed her eyes again and said nothing else.  We left but had to go back in since I left my phone (again).  

Just then Mary Pat arrived.  We walked down to Alison's room and the peace that I had encountered just minutes before was nowhere to be found.  Alison was screaming in pain, cursing, demanding we turn her hair around (???).  She was soaking wet.  An old man with a walker came in to visit/see what the racket was.  The speech therapist arrived (and quickly left because of the mayhem) with Alison's bow.  It was amazing/unsettling to see how quickly things came undone.  We left poor Mary Pat to clean up the mess.  I am sure they got everything under control and hopefully Alison's peace was quickly restored.

That was Mary Pat's second visit of the day.  Alison could not remember that she had already been there earlier.  Mary Pat posted "40 Things I Needed the Most" from My Stroke of Insight.  The nurses were intrigued by the list and made extra copies for the staff and other residents.