(Untitled)

[plantmom]

I had a pretty good day all things considered, except that while I was on break, I was talking with one of the managers and a woman from catering came up to us.  She was concerned because there was a woman named Mary in the ladies' room and she wouldn't come out of that room.  Catering woman said she didn't recognize the woman, or the man standing

Comments

[glenmarshall]

It's sad when people want to hold-on to loved ones who are slipping away into dementia, denying the inevitable. And there are no easy solutions. All that can be done is to involve healthcare professionals if/when needed.

IMHO, it would have been best to summon emergency responders -- EMTs rather than cops -- to help resolve what is actually a medical emergency. You or your employer might have problems if there was a bad outcome, even if your intentions were good. While the husband mayhave been be upset initially, he needs professional guidance to decide on how best to provide the necessary level of care for his wife.

[plantmom]

OMG, so good to hear from you on this subject! Yes, I considered the possibilities of ramifications in the situation. We need, truly, to come up with a protocol to deal with such situations (our customer base is aging, and well enough off that they're doing so in their own homes, without much intervention). I didn't want to call the cops, but I'm not sure there is any clear alternative, initially. I guess we could have called 911, but clarified that it was more of a medical situation, than a law-enforcement situation.

Anyway, my heart breaks. And I will be thinking of how we should deal with this in the future. Because it will happen again, I know.

Thank you, Glen.

[digitalemur]

I wouldn't have felt confident explaining that it was a medical situation and not a law enforcement situation... and yet I suppose if you said "i'm pretty sure this is one of our customers who has alzheimers" it would help them to make a good dispatching decision.

I'm glad you were there to help with this, plantmom.

[nentikobe]

My deepest fear is Alzheimers. My grandmother on my mother's side died with it. Each visit she lost more. First my brother, then me, then my dad. My father's side has my grandfather who worked at NASA sitting in a chair unsure who anyone is.

My mother flew across the ocean twice a year to spend time with her mother who didn't know her. Alone, because we couldn't afford any other way.

It scares me to pieces that its on both sides. That my mother and father might be there... yet not. Or watching one deal with the loss of the other.

Or worse.... being here, and each time I go home... they know less. That disease scares me more than anything else.

I am so glad you were there. And I don't blame you for being shaken.

[tilia_tomentosa]

Good job. *hugs*