My visits to Dad at the NH are distressing and sad, but there are occasionally the odd funny moments that make me feel a bit better.
A new resident recently arrived at the home. He was sat on the opposite side of the lounge to Dad and me, but I could clearly hear him and his lovely Irish accent. (This is a NH in London) “Did you have a lovely Christmas, and did you see Santa?” he asked a carer. I couldn’t hear the carer’s response, but he then asked “If you didn’t see Santa, maybe you saw Humpty Dumpty?” The carer was laughing. He then continued, “Did you see Humpty? and was he falling off a wall?” The carer close to him was giggling, then I started, then another carer did too. My dad started to laugh, even though he didn’t know why, but was obviously laughing because I was. It was a lovely moment.
Dad was recently reviewed by CHC. I spent almost three hours with the assessor, and she then asked to see Dad. The nurse, assessor and I went to the lounge. She knelt down by Dad’s chair, pointed to the nurse and asked Dad, “Who’s this?” He replied very firmly, “Maggot”. Well, she did ask! (The nurse is actually very lovely)