A visit with June

April 29, 2010

This week I went to visit June at her assisted living facility.  Since January when we first started  meeting, June's dementia has escalated.  ...but that doesn't diminish our visits.  It's all about human contact, and it doesn't have to be verbal.

Though we no longer "converse and laugh"... a visit is a visit.  Sometimes I bring books with pictures of large red hearts and silver stars.  She will touch them and I feel that brings color into her life.

This visit, as in the last few I found June asleep in a chair.  Today it was BINGO...and here's where I think...Let's Play...maybe after 50 years I (oops, I meant June) could win!'  Wake up June! and she does...we admire the markers, I rub her shoulders and help her find the numbers.  It was a good time, but alas, we did not win a game (but were so close several times).
But, jokes aside...The nice part was that June was awake and looked quite nice with a new haircut and clean clothes.  About thirty minutes later after visiting with someone else ( another night, another posting)with a quick peek I saw that June was still up and enjoying an afternoon snack.

So...do we say "Poor June"??? maybe...but look at it from another angle. Circumstances that we will never know brought June to this point of her life and naturally we all hope that will not happen to us...No family or friends that we know of.

And so I am that family/friend...if only for an hour every ten days. I truly care about her..she may sleep many days aways and not be sad...but not on my day.

Human contact is so important to the end of our days.  And if you can laugh and smile a bit - which we do - how much the better.