"He 'll never leave this care center," the administrator warned us. "Not only is he physically weak, but his memory is worsening. He 'll probably only last a few months here."
My mother and I glanced at each other, unable to hide the anger we 'd felt. We waited until we got on the elevator, then vented. Mom and I believed Dad would improve, but not in an atmosphere where they 'd already given up on him. Dad did not have Alzheimer 's, and what dementia he had hadn 't stopped him from enjoying life. In fact, quite the opposite.
Living far away from my parents made it difficult for me during stressful times, and I hated leaving while my father was still in the care center. But it wasn 't long before my mother had Dad released …show more content…
"I don 't feel like exercising today," he said, grabbing a bite. " Can 't we skip it?" At that moment I realized how terrible my father 's memory was. We could have walked all day and he wouldn 't have remembered it.
One of my father 's greatest pleasures in life had been playing the piano and yet he hadn 't touched the keys since he 'd come home. While at the care center Dad 's hands had become partially paralyzed which made it difficult for him to play. Determined to change that, I encouraged him to try a few songs so we could exercise his fingers. "Practice makes perfect, Dad," I smiled, reminding him of the words he 'd shoved down my throat as a child.
My father had a beautiful gift when it came to playing the piano. He could play any song he heard by ear, making it sound as if he 'd practiced months memorizing a difficult arrangement. As his memory worsened, Dad had trouble remembering which songs he loved, so he made several lists containing all the song titles he loved playing. While the lists worked at first, eventually he couldn 't remember which song he 'd played last and would often repeat the same songs over again. I rummaged through the drawer, picked a list, and placed it on the piano in front of
My mother and I glanced at each other, unable to hide the anger we 'd felt. We waited until we got on the elevator, then vented. Mom and I believed Dad would improve, but not in an atmosphere where they 'd already given up on him. Dad did not have Alzheimer 's, and what dementia he had hadn 't stopped him from enjoying life. In fact, quite the opposite.
Living far away from my parents made it difficult for me during stressful times, and I hated leaving while my father was still in the care center. But it wasn 't long before my mother had Dad released …show more content…
"I don 't feel like exercising today," he said, grabbing a bite. " Can 't we skip it?" At that moment I realized how terrible my father 's memory was. We could have walked all day and he wouldn 't have remembered it.
One of my father 's greatest pleasures in life had been playing the piano and yet he hadn 't touched the keys since he 'd come home. While at the care center Dad 's hands had become partially paralyzed which made it difficult for him to play. Determined to change that, I encouraged him to try a few songs so we could exercise his fingers. "Practice makes perfect, Dad," I smiled, reminding him of the words he 'd shoved down my throat as a child.
My father had a beautiful gift when it came to playing the piano. He could play any song he heard by ear, making it sound as if he 'd practiced months memorizing a difficult arrangement. As his memory worsened, Dad had trouble remembering which songs he loved, so he made several lists containing all the song titles he loved playing. While the lists worked at first, eventually he couldn 't remember which song he 'd played last and would often repeat the same songs over again. I rummaged through the drawer, picked a list, and placed it on the piano in front of