Helen

We visited Helen today. She is very special to us. She used to be our neighbor. We would visit her on a regular basis and just shoot the breeze. One day, we saw an ambulance in front of her house. I went running down to see what had happened. She had fallen hard and was wedged under her bed. She was hurt, disoriented, and crying. I held her hand and talked to her. I knew she would not be coming back to live alone in her house.

She was moved to a women's home and we visit her there now. I know I need to go more often than I do. Now that we have moved too, we are closer to her.

We were sad to hear today that her beloved cat Marshmallow, had died. He brought her such joy and I could see a change in her now that he is gone. I believe she has dementia. She repeated two different stories three times, verbatim. It seems worse than a year ago. She knows her mind is going and it is very frustrating for her.

We love to talk to her, she has such a great sense of humor and keeps us laughing. She loves to see the kids and play with them. We laughed and even cried a little together. She gets lonely. I know we will be visiting more often. I want to decorate her room a little for Christmas. It is her first year without a tree. I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she said, "To get the hell out of here." She doesn't like being on a schedule for meals, or being told what to do. We will have to see what we can do to cheer her up. She continually told me how happy she was that we came and how we "made her day," She always touches my heart and I know that she is a gift from God to us, and I told her just that.