A Moment in Time- Remembering Dementia

My grandparents live in a 55+ community in Texas during the winter months each year. This past week, while still at their winter home, my grandpa was suddenly hospitalized and admitted to the ICU unit. Luckily, I was able to find a flight on short notice to be with him and my grandma during the hospitalization.

While my grandpa is in the hospital, he has made sure my grandma remains active in their community. This morning grandma and I went to Coffee and Rolls – a meeting held by their living community every Saturday morning to discuss community activities, new residents or other community happenings.

During the meeting, a woman stood up and spoke of a male resident with dementia who had recently moved out of the community. She asked that those who knew him call when they had the opportunity. She went on to say that although the gentleman would not remember the caller as a friend or the conversation shortly after the call ended, they each had the opportunity to give the gentleman a moment in time.

As I thought about this, I reflected on how hard it can be to see friends, parents, grandparents or other loved ones forget names, places and experiences due to advancing dementia. It’s also easy to think the moment soon forgotten won’t matter. However, we encourage you to reach out to someone this week. A moment of time– even when quickly forgotten – can create an experience for our loved one that matters more than we can understand