LOSING YOUR TEETH

We were looking for false teeth!!! Verna had taken her false teeth out and didn’t know where she put them. To make matters worse she had gone into someone’s room and taken their teeth and she didn’t understand why they wouldn’t fit!!! This is when your sense of humor kicks in. I finally figured out who’s teeth she had and we found hers. In her mind she thought it was ok to take those teeth. It never occurred to her they were someone else’s. When I explained it to her she would just smile and say she was sorry. I tried to tell her she could not just take her teeth out and put them anywhere. She needed to put them in her room in her own cup. She agreed but of course in twenty minutes it was gone. That is how Dementia works.
I had a fireplace in the home and it was located in the sitting room. In this room there was no TV and folks could just sit and visit. When my Mother came to live with us she always enjoyed the fireplace. Clem, my husband, was the only one allowed to start the fire up and he took care of the wood. He was a logger so he knew how to do all this. Whenever Clem came in to put more wood on the fire they were all happy. They enjoyed talking to him and he really enjoyed talking to them. To have someone visit just made their day.
On this day, dear reader, my Mother had arrived from Indiana to live with us. My sister, Esther, had driven all day to get here and Mother was exhausted. We opened up the couch for her to lie down and Clem came to stoke the fire. Mother thought he was the best and was so very happy. She went to sleep and the next day we moved her into her room and she lived with us for a long time but always enjoyed Clem fixing the fire.
WE also had two dogs, German Sheppard’s, and they followed Clem everywhere. On this particular day, gentle reader, it had been very windy and cold. You could feel winter coming and almost smell the snow. It was getting late and Clem said he better put some wood on the fire for the evening. He headed for the house and both dogs went with him. About a half hour later he came back and I knew he was upset. He said “I have some bad news for you”. “When I was fixing the fire I heard the dog chewing and I thought he had brought a stick in the house. I wasn't paying much attention and when I got the fire done I called the dogs to leave. One of the dogs was still chewing so I checked to see what he had in his mouth. This is what he had”!!! He opened up his hand and there was a mangled mess!! It was what was left of Verna’s teeth! I could not believe what I was seeing. Evidently the dog found the teeth on the end table and started chewing them up. There is no way you are going to fix this mangled mess. Clem felt terrible and so did I. I was trying to think how to handle Verna the next morning. I got so stressed out I could not sleep. Everyone was sleeping for a change. I decided the only thing I could do was try to explain this to Verna in the morning.
The next morning I set the table for breakfast and then called everyone to wake and get ready to eat. The most shocking thing in the world was when I called Verna and she didn’t respond. She had died in her sleep. She never knew about her teeth and for that I am thankful.
It just goes to show you never knew what was going on at Miner’s.
The snow did come and the wind blew. I think we got about 18 inches and for the first time we were really snowed in. Usually Clem could keep ahead of snow by using the skidder but not this time. This is when Dick got sick and all signs pointed to a stroke or heart attack. I called the emergency number and explained I was snowed in. The next thing you know two huge snow plows came roaring up the driveway. It only took two runs and everything was cleared and Don was taken to the hospital.
He had a stroke but thankfully lived through it.
All in all it was just another week but you learn something new all the time. From then on everyone kept their teeth in their room, when not in their mouth!!!
Until next time, gentle reader, do a good deed and don’t tell anyone.
Love
Red