It was the Alzheimer's Coffee Break on September 15, and the Yorkton and District Nursing Home held a breakfast for residents and their families who have been affected by Alzheimer's, the most common form of dementia.
One of those families was Edna and Ron Parrott. Ron was a former pastor, and was diagnosed in 2002. Edna says that the disease has robbed her of her husband, and their kids of their father.
Edna says that one of the hard parts is being married to someone who doesn't know who she is, or who their kids are.
"One day he was talking to my son on the phone and my son asked if he could talk to Mum. Ron said, "She's not here, I haven't seen her for a long time". When Andrew told him he had just talked to me Ron replied, "Do you have her phone number? I haven't seen her for so long!"" Edna relates.
She says it was difficult to live with Ron because he often didn't know where he was, but believed he wanted to go home.
"Ron was always wanting to go home. He would take off and walk away from the house and would get lost. The police were called a couple of times and they said he could not even tell them his name. I had placed a bracelet on his wrist for identification. The police did not realize that. Our friends found him one time and when they brought him to the house he refused to get out of their car because he said, "This is not my house". When he saw me he did get out," she recalls.
"He thinks our son is his brother but as far as the three girls are concerned he has no clue who they are. A month or so ago we found an old VCR tape that we made in 1993. Our daughter-in-law and son-in-law could see what Ron was like on that tape and expressed their regrets that they did not know him back then," Edna remembers.
While it's difficult to have her husband with Alzheimer's, Edna says she's happy to have her husband, even if he's changed from the man she knew. She's also very grateful to the Alzheimer's unit at the Yorkton and District Nursing Home, as she can no longer manage his care.
"I am thankful for this unit. The staff are very caring. I have noticed their patience with the residents as they are asked the same questions over and over; or when the resident follows them around. They treat each resident as someone very special," she concludes.
