talkhealth


I went to visit my mother the other day with the familiar feeling of dread in my stomach arising.  The last few visits she has been extremely bad, and the visit before last was in A&E has she had had a fall somehow and they were very worried about her – but as usual strong as an ox she carries on to defy everyone.  My brother and I went up into the second floor of her home – reserved for the severe cases of Dementia and she was nowhere to be found and a bright ‘young’ girl came to say “Oh she’s down in the garden with animals”….

And she certainly was – we found her with the biggest rabbit in the world sitting on her lap.  It had been with her for an hour and she wasn’t going to give it up – and unbelievably she was chatting away ten to the dozen as she used too.  It was impossible to understand a word – but for someone who has not spoken for nearly 12 months this was/is an incredible break through.  After I managed to prize the rabbit away, she had the sweetest and smallest guinea pig for a while and then I took her in her wheel chair to see the pigs/goat/donkey/pony/duck and hens that were also there.

It really was so lovely to see the truly magically effect these animals had on all these people and clearly brought great happiness. Three cheers to my mother’s nursing home!!!

  

Catriona

Hello - I am Catriona and part of the talkhealth team. I initially started my blog based on my experiences of having a mother with the diagnosis of vasular dementia. Any views expressed are my own.