Why My Hair Is Graying

A little over a year ago I received a phone call one evening from my dad.  He told me that mom seemed agitated and that he sensed she was about to get mad at him.  He was a little anxious himself because her behavior had started to change and she was having episodes in the late afternoon and evenings when she would yell or hit him.

I told dad to just remain calm and to try to keep the environment at home as peaceful as possible.  Then I settled in with my hubby on the sofa to watch a movie.  Since we live 6 hours away that was all I could do besides pray.  We had prayed before turning the movie on.

A couple of hours later my phone rang again.  I answered and heard my dad say,"Donna, just stay on the phone.  Don't hang up."  Then he quit talking.  I said " Dad " several times calmly and got no response.  The next sounds I heard were radios with static and men talking.  I clearly heard the words knife, blood, and where is she now.  At this point I was yelling into the phone and trembling in fear.  My heart pounded as my mind raced.  My husband grabbed his phone to call their local 911.  Then the line went dead on my phone.
While my husband was talking to 911, I was calling my parents' neighbors.  They were out of town. I called a couple who lived near my parents.  They agreed to rush over and check on them.

When I called my dad back he answered calmly.  I frantically asked if he was alright. He said, "yeah why ".  I told him to step out on the porch so he could talk freely and motioned for my husband to let 911 know they were alright and no one needed to respond.  I then began to quiz my dad about his earlier call.  He replied that they were watching a crime show.  He didn't want mom yelling at him so he had called me and then held the phone out for her to see so she wouldn't yell.  To him it was a coping mechanism.  To me it was a nightmare.  Just imagine the scene playing out in my head when I overheard the crime scene conversation thinking that it was real and in their living room!

I hung up quickly to call their friends and tell them it was a false alarm.  Then I collapsed on the sofa from the excitement.  I think I aged 10 years in those few short minutes.

It did give me a little taste of what living with Alzheimer's Disease can be like.  For a few brief moments that crime scene was my reality.  My husband responded to that reality appropriately by calling for help.  We have to accept that our loved one's reality is very true to them and respond in a way that meets their needs in their reality.

Prayer for today:
God, we thank you for being by our side when we walk in the midst of trials and storms.  Give us wisdom to know how to respond to meet the needs of those we love so dearly.  Give us calm when the road gets rocky.
Give us nerves of steel on the days that can stretch us and age us.