I keep an eye out for my next door neighbour who has dementia. We both have a daily newspaper delivered but for the last couple of days our delivery lady has been away and I have had to go and collect them from the shop.
The first day I collected them and knocked at next door and handed in the paper and explained why I was bringing it and apologised because it was mid afternoon before I had gone out. I don’t think she had even realised she hadn’t had the paper yet!
Yesterday I collected the paper, complete with weekend supplement, but had to knock and hand it in to her because I couldn’t get it through the letterbox. Again I got grateful thanks. Then I went indoors and read my own newspaper. Later I had to go out and was rather surprised to find the newspaper sitting on a box in my porch. Now my memory is not what it was and for a moment I thought I had put my copy there as I was looking for my door key when I came in and left it there, then I read the address written on it and it definitely said next door’s number and my copy was indoors. Maybe I hadn’t given it to Maggie? But I was sure I had because I remembered not getting it through the letterbox! Obviously Maggie had brought it round to me but for what reason I had no idea. As I was just going out I separated the paper and supplement and tried posting them individually through Maggie’s door but for once she must have had her hearing aids in because she came to the door just as I finished. She had no idea that I had already given the paper to her or any remembrance of leaving it in my porch. Thankfully she kept it that time.
As many Carers say they are thinking the same way I now feel, monitoring their own actions to catch themselves with the first signs of dementia, I expect you can understand my initial thoughts that I must be going round the bend because I had to work out why the darned newspaper was sitting in my porch?
The first day I collected them and knocked at next door and handed in the paper and explained why I was bringing it and apologised because it was mid afternoon before I had gone out. I don’t think she had even realised she hadn’t had the paper yet!
Yesterday I collected the paper, complete with weekend supplement, but had to knock and hand it in to her because I couldn’t get it through the letterbox. Again I got grateful thanks. Then I went indoors and read my own newspaper. Later I had to go out and was rather surprised to find the newspaper sitting on a box in my porch. Now my memory is not what it was and for a moment I thought I had put my copy there as I was looking for my door key when I came in and left it there, then I read the address written on it and it definitely said next door’s number and my copy was indoors. Maybe I hadn’t given it to Maggie? But I was sure I had because I remembered not getting it through the letterbox! Obviously Maggie had brought it round to me but for what reason I had no idea. As I was just going out I separated the paper and supplement and tried posting them individually through Maggie’s door but for once she must have had her hearing aids in because she came to the door just as I finished. She had no idea that I had already given the paper to her or any remembrance of leaving it in my porch. Thankfully she kept it that time.
As many Carers say they are thinking the same way I now feel, monitoring their own actions to catch themselves with the first signs of dementia, I expect you can understand my initial thoughts that I must be going round the bend because I had to work out why the darned newspaper was sitting in my porch?
