An idle question: do doctors and nurses still check on a patient’s mental state by asking who’s president? And if so, is more than one answer considered acceptable? And if more than one answer is considered acceptable, what does that say about where we are? In more than one country?
The crisis of American democracy is a crisis of fact.
Thursday, January 6, 2022
On January 6
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comments: 4
My mother has dementia. At a routine check up four years ago, she was asked to name the president. She couldn't. The doctor gave her some clues. No good. When they finally told her, she asked "How did HE get to be president?!" The doctor replied, "Mrs. Hart, many people are wondering that very same thing."
I know what it’s like to see those moments of lucidity amid the losses.
When my dad was in the hospital in 2013 (knee replacement, no dementia), his answer was “Millard Fillmore.” In other words, he found the question a bit insulting.
My favorite dementia moment:
On the telephone, I hear her television on.
Me: What's on the TV?
Mom: The Summer Olympics.
Me: Which event?
Mom: Rowing.
Me: Who's competing?
Mom: Germany and the United States and I don't like it.
Me: Why is that?
Mom: You know that we're at war with those people!
Buy Bonds!
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