Hi Dennis,

What a nice story.   How good that you were able to contribute to their
enjoyment of the area in what might prove to be their last vacation
together!

I attended a BBQ on Monday, and there was a woman who was caring for her
elderly sister.   It was obvious that the elderly sister had dementia, and
the younger sister was trying to cope with her confusion.   She had to leave
in the middle of the afternoon to bring her home, because she was beginning
to get anxious.

Strange how we have learned to spot it so quickly after out own experiences
with the illness.

Hi, Dennis,
What a inspiring story.  You are a good person...
smiles,
Elise

Dennis, so good of you to help her.  Hope she realized it and appreciated
your being there.
Gwen

I'm driving taxi this summer, and our big money fares are when we
take folks on tours of our local area on a charter (paid per
hour, not by distance).

Last week I picked up a nice couple after they had ridden the
tram up to the mountain behind town and took them back to their
hotel.  He appeared to be in his early 80s and she appeared to be
maybe 15 years younger.  They saw the "Tours" sign I had on the
dashboard of the van, and asked about a tour for the next day.

They called me on my cellphone about 10 the next morning and
asked for a 2 hour tour.  I met them at the hotel, and gave them
a quick tour of our downtown historical district and headed for
the main attraction, the Mendenhall Glacier and surrounding area.

As soon as we hit the edge of town, he became agitated because he
thought that he had left their cell phone at the hotel, but she
dug in her purse and found it, and reminded him that she had it
because she had been trying to arrange a sightseeing floatplane
flight and was waiting for the air charter folks to return her
early phone calls.

About ten minutes later, the same thing happened because he
thought that he hadn't brought any money, but she assured him
that she had his wallet also in her purse.  That's when I
realized that he was having memory problems, and that she was
trying to cope in ways that would minimize disasters, help him
keep his dignity, and make the trip enjoyable.

It was obvious to me by the end of the two hours that this was
probably the last long trip they would be taking together, and
that she wanted to remember their last trip as a sweet time they
enjoyed together.  She never talked about it or mentioned it, and
I wouldn't have dared to do so, even when he was out of earshot.

I just did whatever I could to make the whole experience
enjoyable for both of them, and to offer advice on the best way
to organize their time for the remainder of the day and have
plenty of time to make it to the airport and be ready for their
flight onward.  I only hope that other folks that helped them on
their way were able to subtly assist her in reassuring him that
everything was under control.

On May 28, 3:03 am, NO_SPAM_TO_dphar...@gci.net (Dennis P. Harris)
wrote:

Way to go, Dennis.  I also hope they had a really great "rest of their
vacation".

Charles R. Whealton
Charles Whealton @ pleasedontspam.com

Wow, Dennis, thanks so much for doing that for that couple!! My mom has
alzheimers and she and my stepdad took their last trip to see us 3 yrs ago
(I'm an American living in Europe) - and it's hard knowing that this was
their last trip to see us. Mom had a hard time but managed and it is a
priceless memory. Bless you for that!

Pam