Alzheimer's & Parkinson's: A Fate Worse Than Death, Part 3

It is 2005 and there still is no room available for Mom in Assisted Living. My Sister just got news that her Cancer has spread to the brain. We talked and she feels so guilty that Mom is in the Nursing Home. She told her she would never have to live in one. But, that was taken out of her hands, and she still feels bad about it. So she will be going through all over Brain radiation.

Mom started to be interested a bit in her crocheting, and it was time for me to tell her that she was going to be Great Grandma again. One evening when I was visiting, I asked her if she had been crocheting and she said no, I asked why and she said because her hands hurt. Well then I said well you are going to have to start crocheting again as you are going to be Great Grandma to a baby boy this July. Mom was all smiles. I asked her if she wanted me to pick up some different yarn for the baby afghan and she said yes. I asked the color and she said blue. So off I went to get the blue yarn. When I returned I showed Mom the yarn and she smiled and said she liked the color. She pulled a skein of yarn out, picked up her crochet needle and started to make the chain that would start the baby Afghan. She was busy crocheting, and would make a mistake if I said something, so I told her I would come again to visit.

The next time I came to visit Mom had 1/4 of the baby afghan done already, her activities director told me that Mom was so proud of the afghan that she would take it to all of her activities and show everyone. I was so happy that she seemed to be more like herself again. Each time I came more of the afghan was done. What would have taken her normally 1 week to do, took her 4 months. But, that was OK, that was 4 months she was more like her old self.