THE CAPT. STEPS INTO DIMENTIA

Life has a way of throwing one a curveball at times when you least expect it. I’ve transformed over the years into being someone who can deal with challenges by dissecting them into smaller parts. This has usually worked for me up till now.

John Lennon said, LIFE IS WHAT HAPPENS WHILE YOU’RE MAKING OTHER PLANS. For the longest I gave up making other plans and have just dealt with life. That modus operandi led to programming music for restaurants and clubs, life coaching, writing books and audio tapes, D.J for clubs and radio, and currently looking for an agent who can present my talents to those in the various industries that can take my work to another level.

THE CURVE BALL – Mom, to my memory, hasn’t had the greatest memory when it came to details of events, but it never had an effect on her day to day living. We live two blocks from each other on the Upper Westside of Manhattan. She participates in giving tests to students at Columbia University each semester and counts money at her church once a week. She attends a discussion group every week where they review current events and sees an old movie once a week with other elders. Mom will be 80 years old in April. Her physical health is A-1.

In recent times, she has made errors in the apartment number when she would visit and began to repeat things intermittently as though she hadn’t said them before, more frequently. But once she returned from my father’s brother’s funeral, last fall, her shortterm memory has deteriorated rapidly. This, happening the way it has, has knocked me off my center of gravity. My emotions behind watching her fade from who she used to be is pretty heavy. Everything changes! I’ve decided to make this transformation within my Mom as easy as possible for her. This journey will tell me a lot about myself.

Mom lives on her own. My attempts to get Mom to keep a running diary have fallen on deaf ears, because she refuses to do it consistently. I’m trying to get her to use Post Its as a way to keep from repeating behavior she’s forgotten she has done; like getting mail or items from the store. Friends and people I know who have gone through this, including seeing doctors, getting medical examinations and taking drugs say, IT DOESN’T GET ANY BETTER.

I even assisted a woman who went through this struggle with her husband for 6 years. The experience changed her life totally.

The mission is for Mom to live on her own until she can’t function properly anymore. I’m helping her with her bills, her medical checkups and keeping contact with her throughout the day. We take her around the city with us every weekend and have her stop by for breakfast or brunch after church on Sunday.

For me, it’s a matter of coping through this process of watching Mom fade away. I love her, dearly. And now I’ll have to show that love more than ever before. Everyone goes through their own shit, so DON’T FEEL SORRY FOR ME, I’M A WARRIOR, I’LL GET THROUGH THIS. BUT YOUR POSITIVE THOUGHTS QUIETLY SENT THROUGH THE UNIVERSE WOULD DO MORE THAN YOU KNOW!

THANKS, MI GENTE!