The Dementia Patient is Wandering Down the Road

 Late yesterday afternoon, I got a call from a deputy. He told me my mother was walking down the road. Her neighbors were reporting her confused mental state, and she had been wearing the same clothes for a week.

A different deputy was stopped on the road. My mother was making a big show of being really tired. I don't think she was, I believe she just wanted someone to feel sorry for her and give her a ride. 

It took a while to get her in the truck. The whole time, she chattered on about how nice our law enforcement is. 

I think she is fan girling over the deputies. It will be interesting to see what happens when one of the women stops. 

On the way home, mom mentioned several times that she had gotten a gas bill. She shouldn't, because we own a tank, and we have to order a set a mount. The gas is not piped in. The propane is not a monthly utility. She won't use her cell phone, and she can't hear, so I don't see how she ordered gas. 

Once at the house, she wouldn't give me the bill. She hasn't gotten a bill. She needs to order gas. This went on until I started picking up papers. 

The propane bill is dated July 27th. It is not the bill they leave when they deliver gas. If she went into the office, she would have needed to pay for it then. It looks more like the monthly bill for houses with a direct gas line, but she doesn't have that. So now I have to call the gas company and find out what is going on. 

After I got home, I cooked dinner. I took mashed potatoes to Mom, because I was reasonably sure she could chew that. 

She was in bed. All her clocks were showing 9. During daylight savings, I reset all her clocks because all of them had a different time. She changed the times to what she thought it was. She goes to bed at 7. The fact that the sun is still up does not deter her in the least. Did she eat the potatoes, even though it was 'bedtime?' I don't know. Some times she eats. Other times she will decide the food is 'bad.' 

She wore her shoes to bed. She had on different clothes than what I saw her wearing the day before, so I don't know where the same outfit for a week is coming from. Maybe a neighbor checks on her every day. Maybe they just said that in hopes that I would be arrested for elder abuse. Maybe some well-meaning dumbass orders gas for her and now I am stuck with the bill. I am guessing they didn't go check the gas tank before deciding she was out of gas. 

I'm pretty sure yesterday's walk was triggered by the fact that we cut grass the day before. She spent an hour telling my son the same four stories. The next day, she wanted someone to talk to, so she invented a reason to find me or anyone else. The fact that I would have checked on her that evening was irrelevant. 

The horrors persist, but so do I. Blessed be, my dears. Stay safe, stay well, and stay sane.

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